The minimal resolution conjecture for points on del Pezzo surfaces (Q442414)

Let \(K\) be an algebraically closed field of characteristic zero and \(R\) be the polynomial ring \(K[x_0,\dots,x_n]\) which is the coordinate ring of the projective space \(\mathbb{P}^n\). Let \(X \subseteq \mathbb{P}^n\) be a subscheme with the minimal graded free resolution \[ 0 \rightarrow F_{n+1} \rightarrow F_n \rightarrow \cdots \rightarrow F_1\rightarrow F_0\rightarrow R/I_X\rightarrow 0. \] This resolution is described by the graded \textit{Betti numbers} \(b_{i,j}(X)\) defined via \(F_i=\bigoplus_{j\in \mathbb{Z}}R(-i-j)^{b_{i,j}(X)}\). Consider now a general set \(Z\) of points on \(X\). Under a reasonable condition on the size \(|Z|\), \textit{M. Mustaţă} proved in [Matematiche 53, Suppl., 53--81 (1998; Zbl 0943.13010)] that the Betti diagram of \(Z\), consisting at the \((i,j)-\)th position the Betti number \(b_{i,j}(Z)\), is merely the Betti diagram of \(X\) plus two extra rows at the bottom. He also gave lower bounds for the Betti numbers in these two rows and generalized the minimal resolution conjecture stated before only for \(X=\mathbb{P}^n\) by \textit{D. Lorenzini} [J. Algebra 156, No. 1, 5--35 (1993; Zbl 0811.13008)]. The generalized conjecture asserts that the Betti numbers of \(Z\) at the bottom rows attain these lower bounds and specialize to two weaker conjectures concentrating on the beginning and at the end of the resolution. The ideal generation conjecture claims that the ideal \(I_Z\) is generated minimally by the least possible number of polynomials and the Cohen-Macaulay type conjecture asserts that the canonical module \(\mathrm{Ext}^{n}_{R}(R/I_Z,R(-n-1))\) has the least possible number of generators. The main result of the paper under review proves the generalized minimal resolution conjecture about general points \(Z\) lying on a del Pezzo surface \(X\) in \(\mathbb{P}^n\) under a mild condition on the size \(|Z|\) and with the three exceptions including \(\mathbb{P}^1 \times \mathbb{P}^1\), the Hirzebruch surface \(F_2\) and the Bordello surface, a special complete intersection of two quadrics in \(\mathbb{P}^4\). This yields, in particular, that the Ideal generation conjecture and the Cohen-Macaulay type conjecture hold if \(|Z| >6n\). The main technique employed here is the mapping cone construction which is applied to compute the minimal free resolution of a zero dimensional scheme \(X_1\) from the one of another zero dimensional scheme \(X_2\) that is directly linked to \(X_1\) through an arithmetically Gorenstein scheme.