Complementary edge ideals (Q7310755)

In combinatorial commutative algebra, the edges of a graph are represented algebraically by an edge ideal generated by squarefree quadratic monomials. The authors study a complementary construction. If \(G\) is a graph on \([n]\) and \(S=K[x_1,\ldots,x_n]\), they associate to \(G\) the degree \(n-2\) squarefree monomial ideal\N\[\NI_c(G)=\bigl(x_1\cdots x_n/(x_i x_j):\{i,j\}\in E(G)\bigr).\N\]\NFor squarefree monomial ideals of degree two, this construction is the generalized Newton complementary dual introduced by \textit{K.~Ansaldi} et al. [J. Algebra Appl. 20, No.~2, Article ID 2150021, 26 p. (2021; Zbl 1462.13011)]. Complementary edge ideals were also introduced independently by \textit{A.~Ficarra} and \textit{S.~Moradi} [``Complementary edge ideals'', Preprint, \url{arXiv:2508.10870}].\N\NThe first part describes the minimal primes and the Alexander dual of \(I_c(G)\) in terms of nonedges and triangles of \(G\). This yields graph-theoretic characterizations of several standard properties: \(I_c(G)\) is unmixed exactly when \(G\) is complete or triangle-free; \(S/I_c(G)\) is sequentially Cohen-Macaulay exactly when \(G\) is chordal; it is Cohen-Macaulay exactly when \(G\) is complete or a forest; and it is Gorenstein exactly when \(G\) is the disjoint union of two edges. The proofs use Alexander duality, Fröberg's theorem, and standard homological criteria.\N\NA central result characterizes the linear resolution case. The authors prove that linear quotients, linear resolution, and being linearly related are equivalent for \(I_c(G)\), and that these conditions are equivalent to connectivity of \(G\). The proof identifies adjacency in the graph of minimal generators with pairs of edges of \(G\) sharing a vertex. Connectivity is then used to construct an explicit linear quotient order.\N\NThe paper next restricts the possible graded Betti numbers to four positions and analyzes disconnected forests using Hochster's formula and well-ordered facet covers. As a consequence, \(I_c(G)\) has a pure resolution exactly when \(G\) is connected or is a disjoint union of edges, while \(S/I_c(G)\) is level exactly when \(G\) is complete, a tree, or a disjoint union of edges. Finally, all possible pairs of projective dimension and Castelnuovo-Mumford regularity are classified according to whether \(G\) is connected and whether it contains a cycle.\N\NSeveral proofs, including those concerning associated primes and projective dimension, use the hypothesis that \(G\) has no isolated vertices, although this hypothesis is not stated consistently in the theorem formulations. The stated classifications should therefore be understood under this assumption. The paper is relevant to readers interested in monomial ideals, graph ideals, Alexander duality, and homological invariants of combinatorially defined ideals.