The gonality sequence of complete graphs (Q2409831)

Summary: The gonality sequence \((\gamma_r)_{r\geq1}\) of a finite graph/metric graph/algebraic curve comprises the minimal degrees \(\gamma_r\) of linear systems of rank \(r\). For the complete graph \(K_d\), we show that \(\gamma_r = kd - h\) if \(r<g=\frac{(d-1)(d-2)}{2}\), where \(k\) and \(h\) are the uniquely determined integers such that \(r = \frac{k(k+3)}{2} - h\) with \(1\leq k\leq d-3\) and \(0 \leq h \leq k \). This shows that the graph \(K_d\) has the gonality sequence of a smooth plane curve of degree \(d\). The same result holds for the corresponding metric graphs.