Graded Betti numbers of a hyperedge ideal associated to join of graphs

Abstract

Let $G$ be a finite simple graph on the vertex set $V(G)$ and let $r$ be a positive integer. We consider the hypergraph ${\mathrm{Con}}_r(G)$ whose vertices are the vertices of $G$ and the (hyper)edges are all $A\subseteq V(G)$ such that $|A|=r+1$ and the induced subgraph $G[A]$ is connected. The (hyper)edge ideal $I_r(G)$ of ${\mathrm{Con}}_r(G)$ is also the Stanley-Reisner ideal of a generalisation of the independence complex of $G$, called the $r$-independence complex ${\mathrm{Ind}}_r(G)$. In this article we make extensive use of the Mayer-Vietoris sequence to find the graded Betti numbers of $I_r(G_1\ast G_2)$ in terms of the graded Betti numbers of $I_r(G_1)$ and $I_r(G_2)$, where $G_1\ast G_2$ is the join of $G_1$ and $G_2$. Moreover, we find formulas for all the graded Betti numbers of $I_r(G)$, when $G$ is a complete graph, complete multipartite graph, cycle graph and the wheel graph.

Added Remark 3.9 thanks to Hugh Geller