Minimal free resolutions of linear edge ideals (Q627986)

Let \(S=k[x_1,\dots,x_n]\) be the polynomial ring over a field \(k\) and \(I_G\subset S\) be an edge ideal corresponding to a simple graph \(G\) on the vertex set \(\{x_1,\dots,x_n\}\), which means that \(I_G=\{x_ix_j: x_ix_j\in G\}\), where by \(x_ix_j\in G\) we mean that \(\{x_i,x_j\}\) is an edge of \(G\). The complement graph \(\overline G\) of \(G\) is the simple graph with the same vertex set whose edges are the non-edges of \(G\). As is well known by Fröberg's result \(I_G\) has a minimal linear \(S\)-free resolution if and only if \(\overline G\) is chordal. Such ideals are called linear edge ideals. The aim of the paper under review is to provide the minimal \(S\)-free resolutions of all linear edge ideals \(I_G\) (Theorem~3.7). In this resolution, the notion of elimination order plays an important role. For a graph \(H\) with the vertex set \(\{y_1,\dots,y_n\}\), the order \(y_1,\dots,y_n\) is called a perfect elimination order if, for any \(1\leq i<j<\ell\leq n\), \(y_iy_j,y_iy_\ell\in H\) implies \(x_jx_\ell\in H\). We assume that \(x_1,\dots,x_n\) is in the reverse order of the perfect elimination order of \(\overline G\) determined by an algorithm, which is a modification of that given by \textit{D.~J.~Rose, R.~E.~Tarjan} and \textit{G.~S.~Lueker} [SIAM J. Comput. 5, 266--283 (1976; Zbl 0353.65019)]. Then we define the \(S\)-free basis the resolution using mapping cone construction. The usage of mapping cone is quite different from that in [\textit{J.~Herzog} and \textit{T.~Takayama}, Homology Homotopy Appl. 4, No. 2(2), 277--294, electronic only (2002; Zbl 1028.13008)], with which similar resolution for linear edge ideals has been given [\textit{N. Horwitz}, J. Algebra 318, No. 2, 981--1001 (2007; Zbl 1142.13011)]. As an application, explicit formulas for the graded Betti numbers \(\beta_{ij}(S/I_G)\) and the projective dimension of \(S/I_G\) have been given (Corollary~5.2).