Chordality, \(d\)-collapsibility, and componentwise linear ideals (Q2299646)

Let \(K\) be a field, \(S=K[x_1,\ldots,x_n]\) and \(\Gamma\) be a simplicial complex on \([n]=\{1,\ldots,n\}.\) It is a well-known theorem of Fröberg that the edge ideal of a graph \(G\) has a linear resolution if and only if the complement of \(G\) is a chordal graph. There are several generalizations of chordal graphs to higher dimensions, such that an statement similar to this theorem of Fröberg holds in higher dimensions, at least one-sided. One such generalization which is considered in this paper, was introduced in [\textit{M. Bigdeli} et al., J. Comb. Theory, Ser. A 145, 129--149 (2017; Zbl 1355.05285)]. This concept was introduced in terms of clutters. In this paper, the authors change the perspective to simplicial complexes and reveal a strong relation between chordality and collapsibility of simplicial complexes and use this relation to study chordal complexes. To be more concrete, the authors say the simplicial complex \(\Gamma\) is \(d\)-chordal, when the \((d+1)\)-uniform clutter consisting of all \(d\)-faces of \(\Gamma\), is chordal in the sense of the aforementioned paper. Also \(\Gamma\) is called chordal, when it is \(d\)-chordal for all \(d\geq 1\). They prove that if \(\Gamma\) is \(d\)-collapsible, then it is \(t\)-chordal for all \(t\geq d\). Now let \(\Delta_d(\Gamma)\) be the simplicial complex which contains all subsets of \([n]\) with size at most \(d\), also whose \(d\)-faces are exactly as \(d\)-faces of \(\Gamma\) and in which a subset of \([n]\) with size more than \(d+1\) is a face if and only if all of its subsets are faces. This complex is called the \(d\)-closure of \(\Gamma\) and if \(\Gamma=\Delta_d(\Gamma)\), then \(\Gamma\) is said to be a \(d\)-closure. It is shown that if \(\Gamma\) is a \(d\)-closure, then \(\Gamma\) is \(d\)-chordal if and only if it is \(d\)-collapsible if and only if it is chordal. The authors use this relation to show that all induced subcomplexes of a chordal complex are chordal. A face \(E\) of \(\Gamma\) is called a free face, if it is contained in exactly one facet of \(\Gamma\). Free faces are key to the definitions of both \(d\)-chordal and \(d\)-collapsible complexes. Suppose that \(I=I_\Gamma\) is the Stanley-Reisner ideal of \(\Gamma\) and \(E\) is a free face of \(\Gamma\). Theorem 4.5 of the paper, shows that most of the graded Betti numbers of the ideals \(I+(x_E)\) and \(I\) are the same, where \(x_E=\prod_{i\in E} x_i\). Moreover, If all minimal generators of \(I\) have degree \(\leq |E|+1\), then most of the graded Betti numbers of \(I\) and \(I+(x_mx_E|m\in A)\), where \(A\) is a certain subset of \([n]\setminus E\), are the same. As a consequence, they deduce that if \(\Gamma\) is chordal, then \(I\) is componentwise linear. This was previously known only when \(I\) was equigenerated. At the end, the authors consider certain classes of componentwise linear ideals and show that they come from chordal complexes.