Designer ideals with high Castelnuovo-Mumford regularity (Q2255342)

Let \(S=\mathbb{C}[x_0,x_1,\dots,x_n]\) and let \(M\) be a finitely generated graded \(S\)-module. The graded Betti numbers of \(M\) is \(\beta_{i,j}=\mathrm{Dim}(\mathrm{Tor}_i^S(M,\mathbb{C}))_j\). In terms of the Betti numbers of \(M\) the Castelnuovo-Mumford regularity of \(M\) is \(\mathrm{reg}(M)=\max\{j-i\mid \beta_{i,j}\neq 0\}\). For an ideal \(I\) with generators of degree at most \(k\) and codimension \(N\), \textit{A. Bertram} et al. [J. Am. Math. Soc. 4, No. 3, 587--602 (1991; Zbl 0762.14012)] proved that \(\mathrm{reg}(I)\leq N(k-1)+1\). \textit{M. Chardin} and \textit{B. Ulrich} [Am. J. Math. 124, No. 6, 1103--1124 (2002; Zbl 1029.14016)] gave a generalization of this result in the case of \(I\) defining a subscheme with rational singularities. For an arbitrary homogenous ideal, the situation is very different, the regularity can be doubly exponential in the number of variables, and polynomial in the generating degree. \textit{D. Bayer} and \textit{M. Stillman} [J. Symb. Comput. 6, No. 2--3, 135--147 (1988; Zbl 0667.68053)] showed that there exists an ideal \(I\subseteq\mathbb{C}[t_0,\dots,t_r]\) generated in degree \(k\) such that \(\mathrm{reg }I\geq(k-2)^{2^{(r/10)-1}}\). \textit{M. Chardin} and \textit{A. L. Fall} [C. R., Math., Acad. Sci. Paris 341, No. 4, 233--238 (2005; Zbl 1079.14007)] gave examples of ideals in \(r+3\) variables with regularity growing like \(k^r\), where \(r\) generators are of degree \(k+1\), and two generators are of degree on the order of \(2^r\). In this paper under review, the author gives a simple construction of ideals whose Castelnuovo-Mumford regularity is large compared to the generating degree. In addition, the author gets a family of ideals whose regularity grows in the generating degree \(k\) like \(k^{(N-1)/(r-N)}\), where \(N\) is the codimension of the zeroes of \(I\). Furthermore, this family of ideals has the property that the regularity is revealed late in the resolution.