13 A glimpse of combinatorial commutative

algebra.

13.1 Simplicial complexes

In this chapter we will discuss a profound connection between

commutative rings and some combinatorial properties of simpli-
cial complexes. The deepest and most interesting results in this
area require a background in algebraic topology and homolog-
ical algebra beyond the scope of this book. However, we will
be able to prove a highly nontrivial combinatorial result that
relies on commutative algebra (i.e., the theory of commutative
rings) in an essential way. This result is our Theorem 13.25, the
characterization of f -vectors of shellable simplicial complexes.
Of course we must first define these terms and then set up the
necessary machinery.

Let V = {x1, . . . , xn} be a finite set, called a vertex set. An

abstract simplicial complex on V , or just simplicial complex for
short, is a collection ∆ of subsets of V satisfying the following
two conditions (of which the second is the significant one):

1. {xi} ∈ ∆ for 1 ≤ i ≤ n
2. If F ∈ ∆ and G ⊆ F , then G ∈ ∆.

An element F of ∆ is called a face. A maximal face F , i.e., a

face that is not contained in any larger face, is called a facet.
The dimension of F is #F − 1. In particular, the empty set
Ø is a face of dimension −1, unless ∆ = Ø (see the remark

1
below concerning empty simplicial complexes and empty faces).
An i-dimensional face is called an i-face. Soon we will see the
geometric reason for our definition of dimension.

13.1 Remark. There is a small subtlety about the defini-

tion of simplicial complex that can lead to confusion. Namely,
one must distinguish between the empty simplicial complex ∆ =
Ø which has no faces whatsoever, and the simplicial complex
∆ = {Ø} whose only face is the empty set Ø.

If Γ is any finite collection of finite sets, then hΓi denotes the

smallest simplicial complex containing the elements of Γ. Thus

hΓi = {F : F ⊆ G for some G ∈ Γ}.

In presenting examples we will often abbreviate a set such as

{1, 2, 3} as simply 123. Thus for instance h123, 14, 24i denotes
the simplicial complex with faces

Ø, 1, 2, 3, 4, 12, 13, 23, 14, 24, 123.

It is worthwhile to understand simplicial complexes geomet-

rically, though such understanding is not really germane to our
main results here. Let us first review some basic definitions.
A convex set in Rd is a subset S of Rd such that if u, v ∈ S,
then the line segment joining u and v is also in S. Equivalently,
λu + (1 − λ)v ∈ S for all real numbers 0 ≤ λ ≤ 1. Clearly the
intersection of convex sets is convex. The convex hull of any
subset S of Rd , denoted conv(S), is defined to be the intersec-
tion of all convex sets containing S. It is therefore the smallest
convex set in Rd containing S.

2
 A set {v0, v1, . . . , vj } ⊂ Rd is affinely independent if the fol-
lowing condition holds: if α0 , α1 , . . . , αj are real numbers for
P P
which αi vi = 0 and αi = 0, then α0 = α1 = · · · = αj = 0.
Equivalently, define an affine subspace of Rd to be the translate
of a linear subspace, i.e., a set

A = {v ∈ Rd : v · y (1) = α1 , . . . , y (k) = αk },

where y (1) , . . . , y (k) ∈ Rd (with each y (i) 6= 0) and α1 , . . . , αk ∈

R are fixed, and where v · y denotes the usual dot product in
Rd (with respect to some basis). The dimension of A is the
dimension of the linear subspace {v ∈ Rd : v ·y = 0}. The affine
span of a subset S of Rd , denoted aff(S), is the intersection of
all affine subspaces containing S. It is easy to see that aff(S) is
itself an affine subspace. It is then true that a set of k + 1 points
of Rd is affinely independent if and only if its affine span has
dimension k, the maximum possible. In particular, the largest
number of points of an affinely independent subset of Rd is d+1.

A simplex (plural simplices) σ in Rd is the convex hull of an

affinely independent subset of Rd . The dimension of a simplex
σ is the dimension of its affine span. Equivalently, if σ is the
convex hull of j + 1 affinely independent points, then dim σ = j.
If S is affinely independent and σ = conv(S), then a face of σ is a
set conv(T ) for some T ⊆ S. In particular, taking T = Ø shows
that Ø is a face of σ. A face τ of dimension zero (i.e., τ is a single

point) is called a vertex of Γ. If dim σ = j, then σ has j+1 i+1
i-dimensional faces. For instance, a zero-dimensional simplex
is a point, a one-dimensional simplex is a line segment, a two-
dimensional simplex is a triangle, a three-dimensional simplex
is a tetrahedron, etc.

3
 A (finite) geometric simplicial complex is a finite set Γ of
simplices in Rd such that the following two conditions hold:

1. If σ ∈ Γ and τ is a face of σ, then τ ∈ Γ.

2. If σ, τ ∈ Γ, then σ ∩ τ is a common face (possibly empty)
of σ and τ .

S
We sometimes identify Γ with the union σ∈Γ σ of its simplices.
In this situation Γ is just a subset of Rd , but it is understood
that it has been described as a union of certain simplices.

There is an obvious abstract simplicial complex ∆ that we

can associate with a geometric simplicial complex. Namely, the
vertex set V of ∆ consists of the vertices of Γ, and a set F of
vertices of ∆ is a face of ∆ if F is the set of vertices of some
simplex σ ∈ Γ. We then say that Γ (regarded as a union of its
simplices) is a geometric realization of ∆, denoted Γ = |∆|. Note
that if F is a face of ∆ with k+1 vertices, then it corresponds to a
k-dimensional simplex in Γ, explaining why we defined dim F =
#F − 1.

Note. In some situations it is useful for ∆ to have a unique

(canonical) geometric realization. We can do this as follows.
Suppose that ∆ has n vertices v1, . . . , vn. Let δi be the ith unit
coordinate vector in Rn . For each face F = {vi1 , . . . , vik } ∈ ∆,
define the simplex σF = conv(δi1 , . . . , δik ). The linear indepen-
dence of the δi ’s guarantees that σF is indeed a simplex and that
σF ∩σG = σF ∩G . Hence the set Γ = {σF : F ∈ ∆} is a geometric
realization of ∆, so we could define Γ as the geometric realiza-
tion of ∆ (unique once we have labelled the vertices v1, . . . , vn).

4
However, for our purposes we don’t need this uniqueness.

13.2 Remark. (for those with some knowledge of topology)

The geometric realization |∆| is a topological space X (a topo-
logical subspace of some Rd ). We say that ∆ is a triangulation
of X.

13.3 Example. Let ∆ = h123, 234, 235, 36, 56, 57, 8i. A
geometric realization of ∆ is shown in Figure 1, projected from
three dimensions. Note that since three triangles share the edge
23, any geometric realization in Rd requires d ≥ 3. It is a result
of Karl Menger, though irrelevant for us, that any d-dimensional
simplicial complex can be realized in R2d+1 , and that this result
is best possible, i.e., the dimension 2d + 1 cannot in general
be decreased. In fact, the simplicial complex whose facets are
all the (d + 1)-element subsets of a (2d + 3)-element set cannot
be realized in R2d . For example, when d = 1 we get that the
complete graph K5 cannot be embedded in the plane (without
crossing edges), a famous result in graph theory known to Euler
at least implicitly, since he showed in 1750 that f1 ≤ 3f0 − 6 for
any planar graph. The first person to realize explicitly that K5
is not planar seems to be A. F. Möbius in 1840, who stated the
result in the form of a puzzle.

13.4 Example. Let V = {1, 1̄, 2, 2̄, 3, 3̄} and

∆ = h123, 1̄23, 12̄3, 123̄, 1̄2̄3, 1̄23̄, 12̄3̄, 1̄2̄3̄i.

Then the boundary of an octahedron is a geometric realiza-

tion of ∆. See Figure 2. Thus we can also say, following
Remark 13.2, that ∆ is a triangulation of the 2-sphere (two-
dimensional sphere).

5
 4
7

5
2
8

1 3 6
Figure 1: A geometric realization

3 2
3
2

1
Figure 2: The boundary of an octahedron

6
 We now come to the combinatorial information about simpli-
cial complexes that is our primary interest in this chapter. For
i ≥ −1, let fi be the number of i-dimensional faces of ∆. Thus
f−1 = 1 unless ∆ = Ø, and f0 = #V , the number of vertices of
∆. If dim ∆ = d − 1, then the vector
f (∆) = (f0, f1, . . . , fd−1)
is called the f -vector of ∆. Thus the simplicial complex ∆ of
Figure 1 has f -vector (8, 10, 3), while that of Figure 2 has f -
vector (6, 12, 8).

An important general problem is to characterize the f -vector

of various classes of simplicial complexes. The first class to come
to mind is all simplicial complexes. In other words, what vectors
(f0, f1, . . . , fd−1) of positive integers are f -vectors of (d − 1)-
dimensional simplicial complexes? Although this result is not
directly related to the upcoming connection with commutative
algebra, we will discuss it because of its general interest and its
analogy to the upcoming Theorem 13.28.

We first make some strange-looking definitions and then ex-

plain their connection with f -vectors.

13.5 Proposition. Given positive integers n and j, there

exist unique integers
nj > nj−1 > · · · > n1 ≥ 0
such that
     
nj nj−1 n1
n= + + ··· + . (1)
j j−1 1

7
Proof. The proof is based on the following simple combinatorial
identity. Let 1 ≤ i ≤ m. Then
       
m m−1 m−i+1 m+1
+ + ··· + +1= . (2)
i i−1 1 i
This identity can easily be proved by induction on i, for instance.
It also has a simple combinatorial interpretation. Namely, the
right-hand side is the number of i-element subsets S of the set
[m+1] = {1, 2, . . . , m+1}. The number of such subsets

for which
m−s
the least missing element is s + 1 is equal to i−s . Summing
over all 0 ≤ s ≤ i completes the proof of equation (2).

We now prove

the proposition

by induction on j. For j = 1 we
n m
have n = 1 , while n 6= 1 for m 6= n. Hence the proposition
is true for j = 1.

Assume the proposition for j − 1.
Given n, j, define mj to be

the largest integer for which n ≥ mj j . Hence if the proposition
is true for n and j, then nj ≤ mj . But by (2),
       
mj − 1 mj − 2 mj − j mj
+ + ··· + = − 1 < n.
j j−1 1 j
Since the above sum is the
largest possible number of the form
mj −1
(1) beginning with j , we have nj ≥ mj . Hence nj = mj .
By induction there is a unique way to write
       
nj nj−1 nj−2 n1
n− = + + ··· + ,
j j−1 j−2 1
where nj−1 > nj−2 > · · · > n1 ≥ 0. Thus we need only check
that nj−1 < nj . If on the contrary nj−1 ≥ nj then
         
nj nj−1 nj nj nj + 1
+ ≥ + = ,
j j−1 j j−1 j
8
contradicting the maximality of nj and completing the proof.

The representation of n in the form (1) is called the j-binomial

expansion of n. Given this formula, define
     
(j) nj nj−1 n1
n = + + ··· + .
j+1 j 2
In other words, add 1 to the bottom of all the binomial coef-
ficients


in the
j-binomial

expansion

of5
n. For
instance,

51 =
7 5 4 0 (4) 7 4 0
4 + 3 + 2 + 1 , so 51 = 5 + 4 + 3 + 2 = 30. For
notational simplicity we sometimes
5
suppress

the binomial coeffi-
7 4
cients equal to
0, e.g., 51 = 4 + 3 + 2 . Note that a binomial
coefficient nii = 0 in the j-binomial expansion of n if and only
if ni = i − 1, in which case nr = r − 1 for all 1 ≤ r ≤ i.

We can now state a famous theorem of Schützenberger and

Kruskal-Katona, often called the Kruskal-Katona theorem.

13.6 Theorem. A vector (f0, f1, . . . , fd−1) ∈ Pd is the f -

vector of a ((d − 1)-dimensional) simplicial complex if and only
if
(i+1)
fi+1 ≤ fi , 0 ≤ i ≤ d − 2. (3)

As an example, the fact that 51(4) = 30 means that in any

simplicial complex with f3 = 51 we must have f4 ≤ 30, and
that this result is best possible. Theorem 13.6 says qualitatively
the intuitively clear result that given fi , the number fi+1 cannot
be too big. However, the precise quantitative result given by
this theorem is by no means intuitively obvious. Let us try to

9
provide some intuition and at the same time convey some idea
of the proof.

Let α = (a1, . . . , aj ) and β = (b1, . . . , bj ) be two sequences of

nonnegative integers of the same length j. We say that α is less
than β in reverse lexicographic order (or reverse lex order for
R
short), denoted α < β, if for some 0 ≤ i ≤ j − 1 we have
aj = bj , aj−1 = bj−1, . . . , aj−i+1 = bj−i+1, and aj−i < bj−i.
Equivalantly, if we regard the nonnegative integers as the letters
of an alphabet in their usual order, then the reverse sequences
(aj , . . . , a1) and (bj , . . . , b1) are in dictionary (lexicographic) or-
der. If S and T are two j-element subsets of N, then we say that
R R
S < T if S ′ < T ′, where A′ denotes the sequence of elements of
the set A written in increasing order. If we abbreviate a set like
{2, 4, 7} as 247, then the one-element subsets of N in reverse lex
order are
R R R R R R R
0 < 1 < 2 < 3 < 4 < 5 < 6 < ··· .
The two-element subsets are
R R R R R R R
01 < 02 < 12 < 03 < 13 < 23 < 04 < · · · .
The three-element subsets are
R R R R R R R R R R R
012 < 013 < 023 < 123 < 014 < 024 < 124 < 034 < 134 < 234 < 015 < · · · .

The next result explains the connection between the j-binomial

expansion and reverse lex order on j-element subsets of N.

13.7 Theorem. Let S0 , S1, . . . be the sequence of j-element

subsets of N in reverse lex order. Suppose that Sn = {a1 , . . . , aj }

10
with a1 < · · · < aj . Then
     
aj aj−1 a1
n= + + ··· + ,
j j−1 1
and this formula gives the j-binomial expansion of n.

Before beginning the proof, here is an example. What is the

1985th term (calling the first term S0 the 0th term) S1985 of the
rlex order on four-element subsets of N? We have
   
16 11
1985 = + .
4 3
Hence S1985 = {16, 11, 1, 0}.

Proof. There are numerous ways to present the proof. Here

we use induction on n. The assertion
is clear

for n =

0 since
j−1 j−2 0
S0 = {0, 1, . . . , j − 1} and 0 = j + j−1 + · · · + 1 .

Assume the assertion for n. Let Sn = {a1 , . . . , aj } with a1 <

· · · < aj . Suppose that the sequence a1 , . . . , aj begins b, b +
1, . . . , b+c, d, . . . , where d > b+c+1. Clearly b, c, d are uniquely
defined. Then the elements of Sn+1 begin 0, 1, . . . , c − 1, b + c +
1, d, . . . and are otherwise identical to those of Sn . But
             
b b+1 b+c 0 1 c−1 b+c+1
+ +· · ·+ +1 = + +· · ·+ +
1 2 c+1 1 2 c c+1
by equation (2). Thus if Sn+1 = {b1, . . . , bj } with b1 < · · · < bj
then
       
aj a1 bj b1
n+1= + ··· + +1= + ··· + ,
j 1 j 1
and the proof follows by induction.

11
 Now suppose that f = (f0, . . . , fd−1) ∈ Pd . Define a collection
Γf of subsets of N to consist of the empty set Ø together with
the first fi of the (i + 1)-element subsets of N in rlex order. For
example, if f = (6, 8, 5, 2) then (writing as usual {1, 2, 3} = 123,
etc.)

Γf = {Ø, 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 01, 02, 12, 03, 13, 23, 04, 14,

012, 013, 023, 123, 014, 0123, 0124}.
Note that for this example, Γf is not a simplicial complex.

13.8 Theorem. The set Γf is a simplicial complex if and

(i+1)
only if fi+1 ≤ fi for 0 ≤ i ≤ d − 2.

Proof. Let us use the notation [0, m] = {0, 1, . . . , m} and for any
set S,  
S
= {T ⊆ S : #T = k}.
k

ni


Let fi = ni+1i+1
+ i +· · ·+ n11 be the (i+1)-binomial expansion
of fi . By the definition of rlex order, we see that the set X of
the first fi (i + 1)-elements of N in rlex order is given by
    
[0, ni+1 − 1] [ [0, ni − 1]
X= {ni+1} ∪
i+1 i
[ 
[0, ni−1 − 1]
 [
{ni+1, ni} ∪ ··· .
i−1
The set of (i + 2)-elements subsets F of N all of whose (i + 1)-
element subsets belong to X is given by
    
[0, ni+1 − 1] [ [0, ni − 1]
X= {ni+1} ∪
i+2 i+1
12
 [ 
[0, ni−1 − 1]
 [
{ni+1, ni} ∪ ··· .
i
(i+1)
These are just the first fi (i + 2)-element subsets of N in rlex
order, and the proof follows.

Theorem 13.8 establishes the “if” direction of the Kruskal-

Katona theorem (Theorem 13.6), i.e., condition (3) is sufficient
for the existence of a simplicial complex with f -vector (f0, f1, . . . , fd−1).
We have in fact constructed a “canonical” simplicial complex
with this f -vector. Such a simplicial complex is called com-
pressed.

The difficult part of the Kruskal-Katona theorem is the “only

if” direction. We need to show that every simplicial complex ∆
has the same f -vector as some compressed simplicial complex
Γf . This is proved by transforming ∆ to Γf by a sequence of
steps preserving the simplicial complex property and preserving
the f -vector. It is not necessary to understand this argument
(or in fact even the statement of the Kruskal-Katona theorem)
in order to understand the main result of this chapter (Theo-
rem 13.25) and its proof, so we will omit it here. See the “Notes
for Chapter 13” below for a reference to a readable proof.

13.9 Example. Is f = (5, 7, 5) an f -vector? Of course we

could simply check whether the Kruskal-Katona conditions (3)
hold. Alternatively, we can construct Γf and check whether it
is a simplicial complex. In fact,

Γf = {Ø, 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 01, 02, 12, 03, 13, 23, 04, 012, 013, 023, 123, 014}.

This is not a simplicial complex since 14 is a subset of 014 ∈ Γf ,

13
but 14
6∈ Γf .
Hence (5, 7, 5)
is not
an f -vector. In fact, we have
4 1 (2) 4 1
7 = 2 + 1 and 7 = 3 + 2 = 4 < 5.

We next want to characterize the f -vectors of a certain class

of simplicial complexes, called shellable simplicial complexes.
The result will be very similar to the Kruskal-Katona theorem,
but the proof is vastly different. It will use tools from com-
mutative algebra. First we will define shellable simplicial com-
plexes and state the characterization of their f -vectors. We will
then develop the algebraic tools necessary for the proof. Finally
we will discuss a connection with an analogue of the Kruskal-
Katona theorem.

We say that a simplicial complex is pure if every facet (max-

imal face) has the same dimension. For instance, the simplicial
complex of Figure 1 is not pure; it has facets of dimensions zero,
one and two. A subcomplex ∆′ of a simplicial complex ∆ is a
subset of ∆ that is itself a simplicial complex. (We don’t require
that ∆′ has the same vertex set as ∆.)

13.10 Definition. A (d − 1)-dimensional simplicial com-

plex ∆ is shellable if ∆ is pure and there exists an ordering
F1, F2, . . . , Ft of its facets (so t = fd−1 ) such that the following
property holds. For 0 ≤ j ≤ t let ∆j = hF1 , . . . , Fj i, the sub-
complex of ∆ generated by F1, . . . , Fj . In particular, ∆0 = Ø.
Now let 1 ≤ j ≤ t. Then we require that the set of faces of
Fj (that is, the set of all subsets of Fj ) has a unique minimal
element Gj not belonging to ∆j−1. Call the sequence F1 , . . . , Ft
a shelling order or just shelling of ∆, and call Gj the restriction
of Fj (with respect to the shelling F1, . . . , Ft).

14
 Note. Let ∆ be a pure (d − 1)-dimensional simplicial com-
plex. It is easy to see (Exercise 2) that a facet ordering F1, . . . Ft
is a shelling if and only if for all 2 ≤ i ≤ t, the subcomplex
hF1 , . . . , Fi−1i ∩ hFi i (i.e., the set of faces of Fi that already be-
long to hF1 , . . . , Fi−1i) is a pure simplicial complex of dimension
d − 2. More informally, Fi attaches along some nonempty union
of its facets.

It takes some time looking at examples to develop a feeling

for shellings. First note that since ∆0 = Ø, the empty set is the
unique minimal element of F1 not in ∆0. Thus we always have
G1 = Ø.

13.11 Example.

(a) Consider the one-dimensional simplicial complex ∆ of Fig-

ure 3(a). The ordering 1,2,3 of the facets is a shelling order,
with G1 = Ø, G2 = {c} (abbreviated as c), G3 = d. For
instance, when we attach facet 2 to facet 1, we create the
two new faces c and bc. The unique minimal element (with
respect to inclusion) of the two sets c and bc is G2 = c. An-
other shelling order is 2,1,3, with G1 = Ø, G2 = a, G3 = d.
In fact, there are exactly four shelling orders: 123, 213,
231, 312. For instance, 132 is not a shelling order. When
we adjoin 3 to 1 we create the new faces c, d, cd, and now
we have two minimal elements c and d.
(b) One shelling order of the simplicial complex of Figure 3(b)
is 1,2,3,4, with G1 = Ø, G2 = c, G3 = d, G4 = ad.
(c) As essentially explained in (a) above, the simplicial complex
∆c of Figure 3(c) is not shellable.

15
 1
a b
1 2 3
4 2
a b c d
d c
3
(a) (b)

a c a c
e
1 2 1 2
b d b d

(c) (d)

Figure 3: Some simplicial complexes

(d) The simplicial complex ∆d of Figure 3(d) is also not shellable.

Otherwise by symmetry we can assume 1,2 is a shelling or-
der. But when we adjoin facet 2 to 1, we introduce the new
faces c, d, cd, de, cde. There are two minimal new faces: c
and d.
There is in fact a close connection between ∆c and ∆d .
Given any simplicial complex ∆ with vertex set V , define
the cone over ∆, denoted C(∆), to be the simplicial com-
plex with vertex set V ∪ {v}, where v is a new vertex not
in V , and with faces
C(∆) = ∆ ∪ {{v} ∪ F : F ∈ ∆}.
Then ∆d = C(∆c). Morevover, it is not hard to see (Exer-
cise 7) that a simplicial complex ∆ is shellable if and only
if C(∆) is shellable.

13.12 Example. For a somewhat more complicated ex-

ample of a shellable simplicial complex, let ∆ be the simplicial

16
 d

8
2
5
a b
7
1
4 3
c
6
f e

Figure 4: A shelling order of the octahedron

complex realized by the boundary of an octahedron. Figure 4

shows a shelling of ∆. This figure is a projection of the octahe-
dron into the plane. All eight triangular regions, including the
unbounded outside region with vertices, d, e, f , represent faces
of ∆. The sets Gi of minimal new faces are as follows:
G1 = Ø, G2 = d, G3 = e, G4 = f
G5 = de, G6 = ef, G7 = df, G8 = def.

13.13 Example. Figure 5 shows a more subtle example

of a nonshellable simplicial complex ∆. It has nine triangular
facets. There is no “local” obstruction to shellabilty. That is,
we cannot look at just a small part of ∆ and conclude that it is
nonshellable. We will explain why ∆ is nonshellable in Corol-
lary 13.16 (see the paragraph after its proof). In general, how-
ever, there is no simple way to tell whether a simplicial complex
is shellable.

We now want to discuss a connection between f -vectors and

shellability. Suppose that F1 , . . . , Ft is shelling of a (d − 1)-

17
 Figure 5: A nonshellable simplicial complex

dimensional simplicial complex ∆. Let Gj and ∆j−1 have the

meaning in Definition 13.10. Suppose that #Gj = m. Thus
some m-element subset S of Fj is the unique minimal
face of Fj
not belonging to ∆j−1. This set S is contained in d−m
i (m + i)-
element subsets T of Fj , since #Fj = d. Therefore, knowing the
number of elements of Gj tells us exactly how many new faces of
each dimension we have adjoined to ∆ at the jth shelling step.

There is an elegant and very useful way of organizing the

above information. Given the f -vector (f0, f1, . . . , fd−1) of a (d−
1)-dimensional simplicial complex ∆, define numbers h0 , h1, . . . , hd
by the formula
d
X d
X
d−i
fi−1(x − 1) = hi xd−i, (4)
i=0 i=0

where as usual f−1 = 1 unless ∆ = Ø. We call the vector

h(∆) = (h0 , h1, . . . , hd )
the h-vector of ∆. It is clear from equation (4) that the f -vector

18
and h-vector contain equivalent information—f (∆) determines
h(∆) and vice versa.

13.14 Example.

(a) The f -vector of the simplicial complex of Figure 3(a) is

(3, 2). We compute that
(x − 1)2 + 3(x − 1) + 2 = x2 + x.
Hence h(∆) = (1, 1, 0).
(b) For Figure 3(c) we have f (∆) = (4, 2) and
(x − 1)2 + 4(x − 1) + 2 = x2 + 2x − 1.
Hence h(∆) = (1, 2, −1).
(c) For Figure 2 (the boundary of an octahedron) we have
f (∆) = (6, 12, 8) and
(x − 1)3 + 6(x − 1)2 + 12(x − 1) + 8 = x3 + 3x2 + 3x + 1.
Hence h(∆) = (1, 3, 3, 1).
(d) For a more general example, let ∆ be generated by a single
d-element face F , i.e., ∆ consists of all subsets of F . A
geometric realization of ∆ is a (d − 1)-dimensional simplex.
Now        
d d d d
f (∆) = , , ,..., ,
1 2 3 d
and
X d  
d
(x − 1)d−i = xd ,
i=0
i
by the binomial theorem. Hence h(∆) = (1, 0, 0, . . . , 0).

19
 There are some elementary properties of the h-vector worth
noting:

• By taking coefficients of xd on both sides of equation (4),

we see that h0 = 1 unless ∆ = Ø.
• Taking coefficients of xd−1 shows that h1 = f0 − d.
• If we set x = 1 in equation (4) then we obtain1
fd−1 = h0 + h1 + · · · + hd . (5)
The left-hand side fd−1 is the number of (d − 1)-faces of ∆.
It would be nice if hi were the number of such faces with
some property (depending on i). Example 13.14(b) shows
that we can have hi < 0, so in general hi does not have such
a nice combinatorial interpretation. However, for shellable
simplicial complexes hi has a simple interpretation given by
Theorem 13.15 below.
• (for readers with some knowledge of topology) Putting x =
0 on both sides of equation (4) shows that
hd = (−1)d−1(−f−1 + f0 − f1 + f2 − · · · + (−1)d−1fd−1). (6)
If X is any topological space that possesses a finite trian-
gulation, then for any triangulation Γ, say with f -vector
(f0, . . . , fd−1), the alternating sum −f−1 + f0 − f1 + · · · +
(−1)d−1fd−1 is independent of the triangulation and is known
as the reduced Euler characteristic of X, denoted χ̃(X). We
also write χ̃(Γ) = χ̃(X) for any triangulation Γ of X. We
1
Since we have (x − 1)0 = 1 in the term indexed by i = d on the left-hand side
of equation (4), we need to interpret 00 = 1 when we set x = 1. Although 00 is an
indeterminate form in calculus, in combinatorics it usually makes sense to set 00 = 1.

20
 say that χ̃(Γ) is a topological invariant of Γ since it depends
only on the geometric realization |Γ| as a topological space.
Equation (6) therefore shows that

hd = (−1)d−1χ̃(Γ). (7)

Recall also that the ordinary Euler characteristic χ(X) is

given by f0 −f1 +f2 −· · ·+(−1)d−1fd−1 for any triangulation
Γ as above. Thus if Γ 6= Ø then

χ̃(X) = χ(X) − 1

since f−1 = 1. Hence the difference between the reduced

and ordinary Euler characteristics depends on whether or
not we regard Ø as a face.

We now come to the relationship between shellings and h-

vectors.

13.15 Theorem. Let F1 , . . . , Ft be a shelling of the sim-

plicial complex ∆, with restrictions G1 , . . . , Gt. Then
d
X t
X
i
hi x = x#Gj .
i=0 j=1

In other words, hi is the number of restrictions with i elements

(independent of the choice of shelling).

Proof. We noted after Example 13.13 that when we adjoin a

facet Fj to a shelling

with restriction Gj satisfying #Gj = m,
d−m
then we adjoin i new faces with m + i elements. Hence the

21
 P
contribution to the polynomial di=0

fi−1(x −
1)d−i from adjoin-
ing Fj is (using the symmetry d−m
i
d−m
= d−m−i and the binomial
theorem) is given by

X
d−m
d−m
 X d − m
d−m
(x − 1)d−(m+i) = (x − 1)i
i=0
i i=0
i

= xd−m ,

and the proof follows.

13.16 Corollary. A necessary condition for a (pure)

(d − 1)-dimensional simplicial complex ∆ to be shellable is that
hi (∆) ≥ 0 for all 0 ≤ i ≤ d. Moreover, if ∆ triangulates a
topological space X, then a necessary condition for shellability
is (−1)d−1χ̃(X) ≥ 0.

Proof. Assume that ∆ is shellable. By Theorem 13.15 we have

hi (∆) ≥ 0 for all 0 ≤ i ≤ d. The second assertion then follows
from equation (7).

Corollary 13.16 explains why the simplicial complex ∆ of Fig-

ure 5 is not shellable. We have

h3 (∆) = (−1)2(−1 + 9 − 18 + 9) = −1.

The geometric realization of ∆ is a cylinder (or more accu-

rately, homeomorphic to a cylinder). Since h3 (∆) = −1, it fol-
lows that any triangulation Γ of a cylinder X satisfies h3 (Γ) =
−1 = χ̃(X). Similarly, the two-dimensional torus T satisfies
(−1)2χ̃(T ) = −1, so no triangulation of T can be shellable.

22
 The condition of Corollary 13.16 is necessary but not suf-
ficient for shellability. For instance, the disjoint union of two
cycles (a one-dimensional simplicial complex) satisfies hd = 1
but isn’t shellable. (See Exercise 24.) For some more subtle
examples, see Exercises 9 and 10.

13.2 The face ring

Our goal is a complete characterization of the f -vector of a

shellable simplicial complex, analogous to the characterization
of the f -vector of all simplicial complexes given by the Kruskal-
Katona theorem (Theorem 13.6). The main tool will be a certain
commutative ring associated with a simplicial complex ∆ on the
vertex set V = {x1, . . . , xn}. To keep the presentation as simple
as possible, we will develop the necessary ring theory to prove
the main result of this chapter (Theorem 13.25), but no more.
Most of our definitions, results, and proofs can be extended to
a far greater context. We make a brief remark on one of these
generalizations in Remark 13.26.

Let K be a field. Any infinite field will do for our purposes.

Think of the elements of the vertex set V as indeterminates. Let
K[x1, . . . , xn] or K[V ] denote the polynomial ring in the inde-
terminates x1, . . . , xn. For any subset S of {x1, . . . , xn}, write
Y
xS = xi . (8)
xi ∈S

Let I∆ denote the ideal of K[V ] generated by all monomials xS

such that S 6∈ ∆. We call such a set S a nonface of ∆. If S is
a nonface and T ⊃ S then clearly T is a nonface. Hence I∆ is

23
generated by the minimal nonfaces of ∆, that is, those nonfaces
for which no proper subset is a nonface. A minimal nonface is
also called a missing face.

13.17 Example. For the simplicial complexes of Figure 3

we have the following minimal generators of I∆ , i.e., the mono-
mials corresponding to missing faces: (a) ac, ad, bd, (b) ac, bd,
(c) ac, ad, bc, bd, (d) ac, ad, bc, bd. Note that (c) and (d) have the
same missing faces. This is because (d) is a cone over (c). The
cone vertex e is attached to every face F of (c) (i.e., {e} ∪ F is
a face of (d)), so e belongs to no missing face.

For Figure 1, the missing faces all have two elements except
for {3, 5, 6}. For the octahedron of Figure 2, the missing faces
are (writing as usual 11′ for {1, 1′}, etc.) 11′, 22′, and 33′.

The quotient ring K[∆] := K[V ]/I∆ is called the face ring
(also called the Stanley-Reisner ring) of ∆. It is the fundamental
algebraic object of this chapter.

If face rings are to be useful in characterizing f -vectors, we

need to connect the two together. For this aim, define the sup-
port supp(u) of a monomial u = xa11 · · · xann by

supp(u) = {xi : ai > 0}.

Note that a K-basis for the ideal I∆ consists of all monomials

u satisfying supp(u) 6∈ ∆ [why?]. Hence a K-basis for K[∆]
consists of all monomials u satisfying supp(u) ∈ ∆, including
(unless ∆ = Ø) the monomial 1, whose support is Ø. (More
precisely, we mean the images of these monomials in K[∆] un-
der the quotient map K[V ] → K[∆], but in such situations

24
we identify elements of K[V ] with their images in K[∆].) For
i ≥ 0 define K[∆]i to be the span of all monomials u of degree
i satisfying supp(u) ∈ ∆. Then

K[∆] = K[∆]0 ⊕ K[∆]1 ⊕ · · · (vector space direct sum).

We define the Hilbert series of K[∆] to be the power series

X
L(K[∆], λ) = (dimK K[∆]i) λi ,
i≥0

where λ is an indeterminate. Thus L(K[∆], λ) is some kind of

measurement of the “size” of K[∆].

13.18 Theorem. If dim ∆ = d−1 and h(∆) = (h0, h1 , . . . , hd ),

then
h0 + h1 λ + · · · + hd λd
L(K[∆], λ) = . (9)
(1 − λ)d

Proof. We have seen that a K-basis for K[∆] consists of mono-

mials whose support is a face F of ∆. Let MF be the set of
monomials with support F . Then
!
X Y X
λdeg(u) = λai
u∈MF xi ∈F ai ≥1

λ#F
= . (10)
(1 − λ)#F
In particular, when F = Ø the two sides of equation (10) are

25
equal to 1. Summing over all F ∈ ∆ gives
X λ#F
L(K[∆], λ) =
(1 − λ)#F
F ∈∆
X d
λi
= fi−1
i=0
(1 − λ)i
Xd
fi−1λi (1 − λ)d−i
i=0
= .
(1 − λ)d
Now
d
X d
X  d−i
i d−i d 1
fi−1λ (1 − λ) = λ fi−1 −1
i=0 i=0
λ
Xd
= λd hi λ−(d−i) (by (4))
i=0
d
X
= hi λi ,
i=0

and the proof follows.

The integer d = 1 + dim ∆ is called the Krull dimension

of K[∆], denoted dim K[∆]. Do no confuse the vector space
dimension dimK with the Krull dimension dim! By equations (5)
and (9) dim K[∆] is the order to which 1 is a pole of L(K[∆], λ),
i.e., the least integer k for which (1 − λ)k L(K[∆], λ) does not
have a singularity at λ = 1. It is known (but not needed here)
that dim K[∆] is also the most number of elements of K[∆] that

26
are algebraically independent over K, and is also the length ℓ of
the longest chain p0 ⊂ p1 ⊂ · · · ⊂ pℓ of prime ideals of K[∆].

There is a special situation in which the hi ’s have a direct

algebraic interpretation. In any commutative ring R, recall that
an element u is called a non-zero-divisor (or NZD) if whenever
y ∈ R and uy = 0, then y = 0. Now let θ ∈ K[∆]1 be an NZD.
(Note that θ ∈ K[∆]1 means that θ is a linear combination
P n
i=1 αi xi (αi ∈ K) of the vertices x1 , . . . , xn of ∆.) Since θ
is an NZD, we have that for i ≥ 0 the map K[∆]i → K[∆]i+1
defined by y 7→ θy is injective (one-to-one). Hence

dimK θK[∆]i = dimK K[∆]i. (11)

Let (θ) denote the ideal of K[∆] generated by θ. Since θ is

homogeneous, the quotient ring K[∆]/(θ) has the vector space
grading

K[∆]/(θ) = (K[∆]/(θ))0 ⊕ (K[∆]/(θ))1 ⊕ · · · , (12)

where (K[∆]/(θ))i is the image of K[∆]i under the quotient

homomorphism K[∆] → K[∆]/(θ).
P i
P i
If A(λ) = i≥0 ai λ and B(λ) = i≥0 bi λ are two power
series with real coefficients, write A(λ) ≤ B(λ) to mean ai ≤ bi
for all i.

13.19 Lemma. Let θ ∈ K[∆]1. Then

L(K[∆]/(θ), λ)
L(K[∆], λ) ≤ , (13)
1−λ
with equality if and only if θ in an NZD.

27
Proof. If θ is an NZD then by equation (11) we have
H(K[∆]/(θ), i + 1) = H(K[∆], i + 1) − H(K[∆], i).
Multiplying both sides by λi+1 and summing on i ≥ −1 gives
L(K[∆]/(θ), λ) = L(K[∆], λ) − λL(K[∆], λ),
so
L(K[∆]/(θ), λ)
L(K[∆], λ) = .
1−λ
If θ is not an NZD, then we always have
dimK θK[∆]i ≤ dimK K[∆]i,
and for at least one i strict inequality holds. This is easily seen
to imply that strict inequality holds in equation (13).

By iteration of Lemma 13.19 we have the following result.

13.20 Theorem. Let θ1 , . . . , θj ∈ K[∆]1.Then

L(K[∆]/(θ1, . . . , θj ), λ)
L(K[∆], λ) ≤ ,
(1 − λ)j
with equality if and only θi is an NZD in the ring K[∆]/(θ1, . . . , θi−1)
for 1 ≤ i ≤ j − 1.

If θ1, . . . , θj ∈ K[∆]1 has the property that θi is an NZD in

the ring K[∆]/(θ1, . . . , θi−1) for 1 ≤ i ≤ j − 1, then we say that
θ1, . . . , θj is a regular sequence. The number of elements of the
largest regular sequence in K[∆]1 is called the depth of K[∆],
denoted depth K[∆]. Let us remark that it can be shown that all
maximal regular sequences have the same number of elements,
though we do not need this fact here.

28
 It is easy to see that a regular sequence θ1, . . . , θj ∈ K[∆]1
is algebraically independent over K (Exercise 19). In other
words, there does not exist a polynomial 0 6= P (t1 , . . . , tk ) ∈
K[t1, . . . , tk ] for which P (θ1, . . . , θk ) = 0 in K[∆]. Let us point
out that if the sequence θ1, . . . , θj ∈ K[∆] is algebraically inde-
pendent and moreover each θi is an NZD in K[∆], then these
conditions are not sufficient for θ1 , . . . , θj to be a regular se-
quence. For instance, if ∆ has vertices a, b, c and the single edge
ab, then a−c and b−c are algebraically independent NZDs. How-
ever, in the ring K[∆]/(a − c) we have c 6= 0 but (b − c)c = 0. In
fact, we have depth K[∆] = 1, e.g., by Exercise 22. For another
example, let ∆ have vertices a, b, c and edges ab, bc, and assume
that char(K) 6= 2. Now a + b and a − b are algebraically inde-
pendent NZDs but not a regular sequence since in K[∆]/(a + b)
we have c 6= 0 and c(a − b) = 0. Unlike the previous example,
this time we have depth K[∆] = 2. A regular sequence of length
two is given by, for instance, a − c, b.

Suppose that θ1, . . . , θd ∈ K[∆]1 is a regular sequence, where

as usual d = dim K[∆] = dim ∆ + 1. Let R = K[∆]/(θ1, . . . , θd ).
Thus R inherits a grading R = R0 ⊕ R1 ⊕ · · · from K[∆]. By
Theorem 13.18 and the definition of regular sequence we have

L(R, λ) = h0 + h1 λ + · · · + hd λd , (14)

a polynomial in λ. Hence R is a finite-dimensional vector space,

P
and dimK R = hi = fd−1. Clearly R1 cannot contain an
NZD ψ, since e.g. if u is a nonzero element of R of maximal
degree (which must exist since dimK R < ∞) then ψu = 0.
Hence depth K[∆] = d = dim K[∆], the maximum possible.
This motivates the following key definition.

29
 13.21 Definition. Assume that K is an infinite field.
We say that the simplicial complex ∆ is Cohen-Macaulay (with
respect to the field K) and that the ring K[∆] is a Cohen-
Macaulay ring if dim K[∆] = depth K[∆].

Note. Note that the above definition assumes that K is

infinite. There is a more algebraic definition of Cohen-Macaulay
that coincides with our definition when K is infinite but not
always when K is finite. For our purposes it doesn’t hurt to
assume that K is infinite.

It follows from equation (14) that a Cohen-Macaulay simpli-

cial complex ∆ satisfies hi (∆) ≥ 0. However, two basic problems
remain, as follows.

• What simplicial complexes are Cohen-Macaulay?

• What more can be said about the h-vector (or f -vector) of
a Cohen-Macaulay simplicial complex?

The answer to the first question is beyond the scope of this

chapter, but for the benefit of readers with some knowledge
of algebraic topology we discuss the answer in Remark 13.26.
What we will prove is that shellable simplicial complexes are in-
deed Cohen-Macaulay. Regarding the second question, we will
obtain a complete characterization of the h-vector of a Cohen-
Macaulay simplicial complex, which will also characterize h-
vectors of shellable simplicial complexes. This characterization
is a multiset analogue of the Kruskal-Katona theorem (Theo-
rem 13.6).

30
 Let us first consider the second question. A multicomplex
Γ on a set V is a multiset analogue of a simplicial complex
whose vertex set is contained in V . More precisely, Γ is a col-
lection of multisets (sets with repeated elements, as discussed
on page 1 of Algebraic Combinatorics), such that every ele-
ment of Γ is contained in V , and if M ∈ Γ and N ⊆ M,
then N ∈ Γ. We will assume from now on that the underly-
ing set V is finite. For example (writing 112 for {1, 1, 2}, etc.),
Γ = {Ø, 1, 2, 3, 11, 12, 112, 1112} is not a multicomplex, since
1112 ∈ Γ and 111 ⊆ 1112, but 111 6∈ Γ.

If Γ is a multicomplex with ei elements of size i, then we call

the sequence e(Γ) = (e0, e1 , . . . ) the e-vector of Γ. Any integer
vector (e0, e1 , . . . ) which is the e-vector of some multicomplex is
called an e-vector. Our e-vectors are also called M-vectors after
F. S. Macaulay and O-sequences, where O stands for “order ideal
of monomials,” defined below.

Note on terminology. It might seem more natural to

let fi be the number of elements of Γ of size i + 1, and define
(f0, f1, . . . ) to be the f -vector of Γ in complete analogy with
simplicial complexes. Historically, the indexing of f -vectors is
explained by fi being the number of faces of dimension (rather
than cardinality) i. For multicomplexes, we have no need for the
concept of the dimension of a face F (and if we did, the “best”
definition would be that dim F is one less than the number of
distinct elements of F ). Counting elements of multicomplexes
by their cardinality is more natural for almost all purposes. In
the literature our ei is often replaced with hi , and our e-vector is
called an h-vector. This is because e-vectors of multicomplexes
do sometimes coincide with h-vectors of simplicial complexes

31
(e.g., Theorem 13.25). Moreover, e-vectors of multicomplexes
coincide with the sequence of Hilbert function values of stan-
dard graded K-algebras (not defined here, though K[∆] and its
quotients considered here are special cases), so one can think
that h stands for “Hilbert.” To avoid any possible confusion we
will use the new notation ei and terminology e-vector.

We now discuss a “multiplicative equivalent” of multicom-

plexes. If u and v are monomials in the variables x1, . . . , xn,
we say that u divides v (written u | v) if there is a mono-
mial w for which uw = v. Equivalently, if u = xa11 · · · xann and
v = xb11 · · · xbnn , then u | v if and only if ai ≤ bi for all i. An
order ideal of monomials in the variables x1 , . . . , xn is a collec-
tion O of monomials in these variables such that if v ∈ O and
u | v, then u ∈ O. Equivalently, associate with the monomial
u = xa11 · · · xann the multiset Mu = {1a1 , . . . , nan } (i.e., i has mul-
tiplicity ai ). Then a set M of monomials is an order ideal of
monomials if and only if the collection {Mu : u ∈ M} is a
multicomplex.

While we need the next result only for quotients of face rings
by a regular sequence, it involves no extra work to prove it in
much greater generality. For this purpose, we define a homoge-
neous ideal of the polynomial ring K[x1, . . . , xn] to be an ideal
I generated by homogeneous polynomials.

13.22 Theorem. Let I be a homogeneous ideal of K[x1, . . . , xn],

and let P = K[x1, . . . , xn]/I. Then P has a K-basis that is an
order ideal of monomials in the variables x1, . . . , xn.

Proof. We define reverse lex order on monomials of degree m as

32
follows: define
R
xa11 · · · xann < xb11 · · · xbnn ,
P P
where ai = bi, if
R
(1a1 , . . . , nan ) < (1b1 , . . . , nbn ),

where ij denotes a sequence i’s of length j. For instance, the

reverse lex order on monomials of degree three in the variables
x1, x2, x3 is
R R R R R R R R R
x31 < x21 x2 < x1x22 < x32 < x21x3 < x1x2x3 < x22x3 < x1 x23 < x2x23 < x33.

For each m ≥ 0 let Pm denote the span (over the field K) of

the homogeneous polynomials in P of degree m. Because I is
generated by homogeneous polynomials we have the vector space
direct sum
P = P0 ⊕ P1 ⊕ P2 ⊕ · · · ,
a direct generalization of equation (12).

For each degree m, let Bm be the least K-basis for Pm in

reverse lex order. In other words, first choose the least monomial
u1 of degree m in rlex order that is nonzero in P . Then choose
the least monomial u2 of degree m in rlex order such that {u1, u2}
are linearly independent, etc. We eventually obtain a K-basis
for Pm by this process since every linearly independent subset
of a vector space can be extended to a basis.

We claim that the set B0 ∪ B1 ∪ B2 ∪ · · · is a basis for P which

is an order ideal of monomials. Suppose not. Let v ∈ Bj , u | v,
but u 6∈ Bi where i = deg u. Then u is a linear combination of

33
 R
monomials w < u, say
X
u= αw w.
R
w<u

R
Multiply both sides by v/u. It is easy to see that if w < u then
R
wv/u < v. Thus we have expressed v as a linear combination of
R
monomials wv/u < v, contradicting v ∈ Bj .

13.23 Corollary. Let ∆ be a Cohen-Macaulay simplicial

complex. Then the h-vector of ∆ is an e-vector.

Proof. Let θ1, . . . , θd be a regular sequence in K[∆]1, and let

R = R0 ⊕ R1 ⊕ · · · = K[∆]/(θ1, . . . , θd).

According to the definition of a Cohen-Macaulay simplicial com-

plex and equation (14) we have hi (∆) = dimK Ri . Thus if Di is
any K-basis for Ri , then #Di = hi . By Theorem 13.22 there is
a K-basis Bi for each i such that B0 ∪ B1 ∪ · · · ∪ Bd is an order
ideal Γ of monomials. Thus if Γ has e-vector (e0 , e1, . . . ) then
ei = #Bi = hi , and the proof follows.

The next step is to find some simplicial complexes to which

we can apply Corollary 13.23. The next result is the primary al-
Q
gebraic result of this chapter. Recall the notation xS = xi ∈S xi
of equation (8).

13.24 Theorem. If ∆ is a shellable simplicial complex

on the vertex set V = {x1, . . . , xn} then the face ring K[∆] is

34
Cohen-Macaulay for any infinite field K. Moreover, if F1 , . . . , Ft
is a shelling of ∆ with restrictions G1 , . . . , Gt , then xG1 , . . . , xGt
is a K-basis for R = K[∆]/(θ1, . . . , θd ) for any regular sequence
θ1, . . . , θd ∈ K[∆]1.

Proof. Let B = {xG1 , . . . , xGt }. Let θ1, . . . , θd ∈ K[∆]1 satisfy

the following property.

(P) The restriction of θ1 , . . . , θd to any facet (or face) F spans

the K-vector space KF with basis F . In other words, if we define

ψi = θi |xj =0 if xj 6∈F ,

then ψ1 , . . . , ψd span KF .

Note that K being infinite guarantees that there is enough

“room” to find such θ1, . . . , θd. This is the reason why we require
K to be infinite.

Now let R = K[∆]/(θ1, . . . , θd). By Theorems 13.15 and

13.20 (in the case j = d) it follows that if B spans R (as a vector
space over K) then θ1, . . . , θd is regular, and B is a K-basis for
R. Thus we need to show that B spans R.

The proof is by induction on t.

First assume that t = 1. Then ∆ is just a simplex and K[∆] =

K[x1, . . . , xd ]. Moreover, x1, . . . , xd is a regular sequence and
K[∆]/(x1, . . . , xd) = K. The Hilbert series of the field K is just
1. Finally, if F is the unique facet of ∆ then F (regarded as

35
a one-term sequence) is a shelling of ∆ with G1 = Ø. Since
xØ = 1 is a basis for K, the theorem is true for t = 1.

Now assume the theorem for t − 1, and let F1, . . . , Ft be a

shelling of ∆.

Claim. xixGt = 0 in R for all 1 ≤ i ≤ n.

Case 1. Suppose that xi 6∈ Ft . By definition of shelling the

new faces F obtained by adjoining Ft to the shelling are given
by Gt ⊆ F ⊆ Ft . Thus {xi} ∪ Gt cannot be a new face, so
{xi} ∪ Gt 6∈ ∆. Hence xixGt = 0 in K[∆], so also in R.

Case 2. Suppose that xi ∈ Ft . Set

K[Ft] = K[∆]/(xj : xj 6∈ Ft ) = K[xj : xj ∈ Ft ],

a polynomial ring in the vertices of Ft. By property (P), the

restrictions ψ1 , . . . , ψd of θ1, . . . , θd to F span the space KF .
Hence there exists a linear combination of θ1, . . . , θd of the form
X
η = xi + αj xj , αj ∈ K.
xj 6∈Ft

Then in the ring R we have

xi xGt = (xi − η)xGt (since η = 0 in R)

 
X
= − αj xj  xGt
xj 6∈Ft
= 0 (by Case 1).

This completes the proof of the claim.

36
 Now let R′ = R/(xGt ) and ∆t−1 = hF1 , . . . , Ft−1i. By defini-
tion of Gt we have
K[∆t−1] = K[∆]/(xGt ).
Condition (P) still holds for K[∆t−1] (since the facets of ∆t−1
are also facets of ∆). Moreover,
R′ = K[∆t−1]/(θ1, . . . , θd ).

By the induction hypothesis, xG1 , . . . , xGt−1 span R′ . By the

claim, the ideal (xGt ) of R is a vector space of dimension at most
one. Hence xG1 , . . . , xGt span R, and the proof follows for any
(regular) sequence θ1, . . . , θd satisfying (P).

It remains to show that every regular sequence θ1, . . . , θd ∈

K[∆]1 satisfies (P). This result is an easy exercise; a somewhat
more general result is given by Exercise 21.

Note. Note the structure of the previous proof. We pick

θ1, . . . , θd ∈ K[∆]1 satisfying Property (P). Let F1, . . . , Ft be a
shelling of ∆, and set R = K[∆]/(θ1, . . . , θd). As we successively
quotient R by the monomials xG1 , . . . , xGt , the vector space di-
mension drops by at most one, and we end up with the ring
0. Hence dimK R ≤ t = fd−1(∆). On the other hand, by The-
P
orems 13.18 and 13.20 we have dimK R ≥ hi = t. Hence
xG1 , . . . , xGt must be a K-basis for R.

We are finally ready for the main theorem of this chapter.

13.25 Theorem. Let h = (h0, h1 , . . . , hd ) be a sequence of

integers. The following three conditions are equivalent.

37
 (a) There exists a (d − 1)-dimensional Cohen-Macaulay simpli-
cial complex (over any infinite field) ∆ with h(∆) = h.
(b) There exists a (d − 1)-dimensional shellable simplicial com-
plex ∆ with h(∆) = h.
(c) The sequence h is an e-vector.

Proof. (b)⇒(a) Immediate from Theorem 13.24.

(a)⇒(c) This is Corollary 13.23.

(c)⇒(b) Given the e-vector h, we need to construct a shellable

simplicial complex ∆ whose h-vector is h. We will identify a
(finite) multiset M of positive integers with the increasing se-
quence of its elements. Given 0 ≤ i ≤ d, let α1 , α2, . . . , αhi
be the first hi terms of the rlex order on i-element multisets of
positive integers. For instance, when i = 3 and h3 = 8, we have
(α1, . . . , α8) = (111, 112, 122, 222, 113, 123, 223, 133). (15)
If αj = a1 a2 · · · ai , define
βj = 1, 2, 3, . . . , d−i, a1 +d−i+1, a2 +d−i+2, . . . , ai +d. (16)
For the example of equation (15) and d = 5 we have
(β1, . . . , β8) = (12456, 12457, 12467, 12567, 12458, 12468, 12568, 12478).
Now let σ be the concatenation β1 , β2, . . . , βd of the sequences
β1 , . . . , βd . For instance, if h = (1, 4, 2, 1) (so d = 3) then we get
(where we separate the different βj ’s with semicolons, and we
write in boldface the terms a1 + d − i + 1, a2 + d − i + 2, . . . , ai + d
of each βj )
σ = (123; 124, 125, 126, 127; 134, 135; 234). (17)

38
 We leave as an exercise (Exercise 25) to show that σ is a
shelling of a (d−1)-dimensional simplicial complex ∆ on the ver-
tex set {1, 2, . . . , h1 +d}. Moreover, if we write σ = (F1, . . . , Fm)
P
(where m = hi = fd−1(∆)) and if Fk is given by the sequence
on the right-hand side of equation (16), then the restriction Gk
is given by Gk = {a1 + d − i + 1, a2 + d − i + 2, . . . , ai + d}.
This being the case, exactly hi restrictions Gk have i elements,
so indeed h(∆) = h.

As an example, the sequence σ of equation (17) is a shelling

(F1, . . . , F8) of a simplicial complex ∆ with vertices 1, . . . , 7. The
restrictions G1 , . . . , G8 are given by Ø, 4, 5, 6, 7, 34, 35, 234 (the
elements in boldface).

13.26 Remark. We mentioned earlier that the complete

characterization of Cohen-Macaulay simplicial complexes is be-
yond the scope of this chapter. For readers familiar with some
algebraic topology (only the rudiments of simplicial homology
are needed), we will state without proof the theorem of Gerald
Reisner that provides this characterization. For this purpose, if
F ∈ ∆ then define the link of F , denoted lk∆ (F ), by
lk∆ (F ) = {G ∈ ∆ : F ∩ G = Ø, F ∪ G ∈ ∆}.
It is clear that lk∆ (F ) is a subcomplex of ∆. In particular,
lk∆ (Ø) = ∆. For any simplicial complex Γ we write H e i(∆; K)
for the ith reduced homology group of ∆ over the field K.

13.27 Theorem. Let K be an infinite field. The following

two conditions on a simplicial complex ∆ are equivalent.

• ∆ is Cohen-Macaulay with respect to K.

39
 e i (lk∆ (F ); K) =
• For every F ∈ ∆ (including F = Ø), we have H
0 for all i 6= dim lk∆ (F ).

It can be shown from Reisner’s theorem that for fixed K (or

actually, for fixed characteristic of K), Cohen-Macaulayness is
a topological property, i.e., it depends only on the geometric
realization of ∆ (as a topological space). For instance, all tri-
angulations of spheres and balls (of any dimension) are Cohen-
Macaulay over any (infinite) field. A triangulation of the real
projective plane is Cohen-Macaulay with respect to K if and
only if char(K) 6= 2.

Theorem 13.25 gives an elegant characterization of h-vectors

(and hence f -vectors) of shellable simplicial complexes, but one
ingredient is still missing—a “nice” characterization of e-vectors.
Since an e-vector is a multiset analogue of an f -vector of a sim-
plicial complex, it is not unreasonable to expect a characteriza-
tion of e-vectors similar to the Kruskal-Katona theorem (Theo-
rem 13.6) for ordinary f -vectors. We conclude this chapter by
discussing such a characterization.

Given positive integers n and j, let

     
nj nj−1 n1
n= + + ··· +
j j−1 1
be the j-binomial expansion of n (equation (1)). Now define
     
n j + 1 n j−1 + 1 n 1 + 1
nhji = + + ··· + .
j+1 j 2
Thus instead of adding 1 to the bottom of each binomial co-
efficient as we did when we defined n(j) , now we add 1 to the

40
bottom and top. We now have the following exact analogue of
the Kruskal-Katona theorem.

13.28 Theorem. A vector (e0 , e1, . . . , ed ) ∈ Pd+1 is an

e-vector if and only if e0 = 1 and
hii
ei+1 ≤ ei , 0 ≤ i ≤ d − 1. (18)

The proof is analogous to that of the Kruskal-Katona the-

orem. Namely, we identify a finite multiset M on N with the
increasing sequence of its elements. For instance, the multiset
{0, 0, 2, 3, 3, 3} becomes the sequence 002333, and the sequence
of 3-element multisets on N in rlex order begins
000 001 011 111 002 012 112 022 122 222 003 · · · .
It can easily be checked that if a1 a2 · · · aj is the nth term (be-
ginning with term 0) in the rlex ordering of j-element multisets
on N, then a1 , a2 + 1, a3 + 2, . . . , aj + j − 1 is the nth term in
the rlex ordering of j-element subsets of N. Hence Theorem 13.7
applies equally well to multisets on N.

We next have the following multiset analogue of Theorem 13.8.

The proof is completely analogous to that of Theorem 13.8.

13.29 Theorem. Given e = (e0, e1 , . . . , ed ) ∈ Pd with

e0 = 1, let Ωe consist of the union over all i ≥ 1, together
with Ø, of the first ei of the i-element multisets on N in rlex
hii
order. The set Ωe is a multicomplex if and only if ei+1 ≤ ei for
1 ≤ i ≤ d − 1.

Theorem 13.29 proves the “if” direction of Theorem 13.28.

41
The proof of the “only if” direction is similar to that of the
Kruskal-Katona theorem. A multicomplex as in Theorem 13.29
is called compressed. Given any multicomplex Γ, we transform it
by a sequence of simple operations into a compressed multicom-
plex, at all steps preserving the e-vector. We omit the details,
which are somewhat more complicated than in the simplicial
complex case.

13.30 Example. Is (e0 , e1, e2, e3 ) = (1, 4, 5, 7) an e-vector?

The first ei multisets on N in rlex order for 1 ≤ i ≤ 3 are given
by
0 1 2 3
00 01 11 02 12 .
000 001 011 111 002 012 112
These multisets (together with Ø) form a multicomplex, so
(1, 4, 5, 7) is an e-vector. On the other hand, (1, 4, 5, 8) is not
an e-vector. We need to add the multiset 022, but
22 2does

not
3
appear. We
can
also check this by writing 5 = 2 + 1 . Then
h2i 4 3
5 = 3 + 2 = 7, so if in an e-vector we have e2 = 5 then
e3 ≤ 7.

Notes for Chapter 13.

The embedding theorem of Menger discussed in Example 13.3

appears (in much greater generality) in Menger [13]. The state-
ment that the simplicial complex whose facets are all (d + 1)-
element subsets of a (2d + 3)-element set cannot be realized in
R2d is due to A. Flores and E. R. van Kampen. For a modern
treatment see Matous̆ek [12].

The Kruskal-Katona theorem (Theorem 13.6) was first stated

42
by M.-P. Schützenberger in a rather obscure journal [15]. The
first published proofs were by J. Kruskal [9] and later indepen-
dently by G. O. H. Katona [7]. A nice survey of this area is given
by Greene and Kleitman, [6], including a good presentation of
a proof of the Kruskal-Katona theorem due to Clements and
Lindström [3].

The first indication of a connection between commutative al-

gebra and combinatorial properties of simplicial complexes ap-
pears in a paper of Melvin Hochster [5]. The face ring of a
simplicial complex first appeared in the Ph.D. thesis of Ger-
ald Reisner (published version in [14]), which was supervised by
Hochster, and independently in two papers of Stanley [17][18].
For an exposition of the connections between combinatorics and
commutative algebra see Stanley [19].

The concept of shelling goes back to nineteenth century ge-

ometers, but perhaps the first substantial result on shellings is
due to Bruggesser and Mani [1]. The characterization of h-
vectors of shellable simplicial complexes (Theorem 13.25) is a
special case of a result of Stanley [17]. Our proof here is based
on that of B. Kind and P. Kleinschmidt [8].

The characterization of e-vectors (Theorem 13.28) is due to

F. S. Macaulay [11], who gave a very complicated proof as part
of his characterization of Hilbert series of graded algebras. It
is interesting that Macaulay’s theorem preceded the Kruskal-
Katona theorem, though the latter is somewhat easier to prove.
Simpler proofs of Macaulay’s theorem were later given by by
Sperner [16], Whipple [20], and Clements and Lindström [3],
among others.

43
 Cohen-Macaulay rings are named after I. Cohen [4] and F. S.
Macaulay [10], who were interested in them primarily because of
their connection with “unmixedness” theorems. For a modern
treatment see the text of W. Bruns and J. Herzog [2].

References

[1] H. Bruggesser and P. Mani, Shellable decompositions of

cells and spheres, Math. Scand. 29 (1971), 197–205.
[2] W. Bruns and J. Herzog, Cohen-Macaulay Rings, revised
ed., Cambridge Studies in Advanced Mathematics 39, Cam-
bridge University Press, Cambridge/New York, 1998.
[3] G. F. Clements and B. Lindström, A generalization of a
combinatorial theorem due to Macaulay, J. Combinatorial
Theory 7 (1969), 230–238.
[4] I. S. Cohen, On the structure and ideal theory of complete
local rings, Trans. Amer. Math. Soc. 59 (1946), 54–106.
[5] M. Hochster, Rings of invariants of tori, Cohen-Macaulay
rings generated by monomials, and polytopes, Annals of
Math. 96 (1972), 318–337.
[6] C. Greene and D. J. Kleitman, Proof techniques in the the-
ory of finite sets, in Studies in Combinatorics (G.-C. Rota,
ed.), M.A.A. Studies in Mathematics 17, Mathematical As-
sociation of America, Washington, DC, 1978, pp. 22–79.
[7] G. O. H. Katona, A theorem of finite sets, Proc. Tihany
Conf. 1966, Budapest, 1968.

44
 [8] B. Kind and P. Kleinschmidt, Schälbare Cohen-Macaulay-
Komplexe und ihre Parametrisierung, Math. Z. 167 (1979),
173–179.
[9] J. Kruskal, The number of simplices in a a complex, Math-
ematical Optimization Techniques, University of California
Press, Berkeley and Los Angeles, 1963, 251–278.
[10] F. S. Macaulay, The Algebraic Theory of Modular Systems,
Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 1916; reprinted by
Cambridge University Press, Cambridge/New York, 1994.
[11] F. S. Macaulay, Some properties of enumeration in the
theory of modular systems, Proc. London Math. Soc. 26
(1927), 531–555.
[12] J. Matouss̆ek, Using the Borsuk-Ulam theorem: Lectures
on Topological Methods in Combinatorics and Geometry,
Universitext, Springer-Verlag, Berlin, 2003.
[13] K. Menger, Untersuchungen über allgeneine Metrik?, Math.
Ann. 100 (1928), 75–163.
[14] G. Reisner, Cohen-Macaulay quotients of polynomial rings,
Advances in Math. 21 (1976), 30–49.
[15] M.-P. Schützenberger, A characteristic property of certain
polynomials of E. F. Moore and C. E. Shannon, in RLE
Quarterly Progress Report, No. 55, Research Laboratory
of Electronics, M.I.T., 1959, 117–118.
[16] E. Sperner, Über einen kombinatorischen Satz von
Macaulay und seine Anwendung auf die Theorie der Poly-
nomideale, Abh. Math. Sem. Univ. Hamburg 7 (1930), 149–
163.

45
[17] R. Stanley, Cohen-Macaulay rings and constructible poly-
topes, Bull. Amer. Math. Soc. 81 (1975), 133–135.
[18] R. Stanley, The Upper Bound Conjecture and Cohen-
Macaulay rings, Studies in Applied Math. 54 (1975), 135–
142.
[19] R. Stanley, Combinatorics and Commutative Algebra,
second ed., Progress in Mathematics 41, Birkhäuser,
Boston/Basel/Berlin, 1996.
[20] F. Whipple, On a theorem due to F. S. Macaulay, J. London
Math. Soc. 28 (1928), 431–437.

46
 Exercises for Chapter 13

As in the book Algebraic Combinatorics, the notation (*)

indicates that a hint is provided. Here the hints are at the end
of this set of exercises.

1. A simplicial complex ∆ has 2528 three-dimensional faces.

Show that it has at most 6454 four-dimensional faces, and
that this result is best possible. (“Best possible” means
that there exists some ∆ with f3 = 2528 and f4 = 6454).
2. Prove the assertion of the Note following Definition 13.10.
That is, let ∆ be a pure (d − 1)-dimensional simplicial com-
plex. Then a facet ordering F1, . . . Ft is a shelling if and only
if for all 2 ≤ i ≤ t, the subcomplex hF1 , . . . , Fi1 i ∩ hFi i is a
pure simplicial complex of dimension d − 2.
3. (a) Find the number of shellings of a path of length n, i.e,
the simplicial complex with n + 1 vertices and n edges
forming a path.
(b) Find the number of shellings of a cycle of length n.
4. Find explicitly every simplicial complex ∆ with the prop-
erty that every ordering of its facets is a shelling.
5. Suppose that F1 , F2, . . . , Ft is shelling of a simplicial com-
plex ∆. Is it always the case that the reverse order Ft , Ft−1, . . . , F1
is also a shelling of ∆?
6. Show that if a simplicial complex ∆ is shellable and F ∈ ∆,
then the link lk∆ (F ) (as defined in Remark 13.26) is also
shellable.

47
 7. Prove the assertion of Example 13.11(d) that a simplicial
complex ∆ is shellable if and only if the cone C(∆) is
shellable.
8. A matroid complex is a simplicial complex ∆ on the vertex
set V such that for any W ⊆ V , the restriction ∆W of ∆
to W , i.e.,
∆W = {F ∈ ∆ : F ⊆ W },
is pure.
(a) Let V = {x1, . . . , xn} be a set of distinct nonzero vec-
tors in some vector space over a field. Define

∆ = {F ⊆ V : F is linearly independent}.

Clearly ∆ is a simplicial complex on V . Show that ∆

is a matroid complex.
(b) Show that a matroid complex is shellable.
9. (*) (for those who know a little topology) Let X be the
topological space obtained by identifying the three sides
(edges) of a solid triangle as shown in Figure 6. (The edges
are identified in the direction of the arrows.) This space is
called the topological dunce hat. Show that if ∆ is a simpli-
cial complex whose geometric realization is homeomorphic
to ∆ then ∆ is not shellable.
10. (a) Show that every triangulation ∆ of a two-dimensional
ball X (i.e., the geometric realization of ∆ is homeo-
morphic to X) is shellable.
(b) (very difficult) Find a triangulation of a three-dimensional
ball that is not shellable.

48
 (c) (even more difficult) Find a triangulation of a three-
dimensional sphere that is not shellable.
11. (*) A partial shelling of a pure (d − 1)-dimensional complex
is a sequence F1 , . . . , Fr of some subset of the facets such
that this sequence is a shelling order for the simplicial com-
plex hF1 , . . . , Fr i which they generate. Clearly if F1 , . . . , Ft
is a shelling of ∆, then F1, . . . , Fr is a partial shelling for all
1 ≤ r ≤ t. Give an example of a shellable simplicial com-
plex that has a partial shelling that cannot be extended to
a shelling.
12. Let (f0, f1, . . . , fd−1) be the f -vector of a (d−1)-dimensional
simplicial complex ∆. We will illustrate a certain procedure
with the example (6, 12, 8) (the f -vector of an octahedron).
Write down the numbers f0, f1, . . . , fd−1 on a diagonal, and
put 1 to the left of f0:
1 6
12
8
Think of the 1 as being preceded by a string of 0’s. Turn
the array into a difference table by writing below each pair

Figure 6: The topological dunce hat

49
 of consecutive numbers their difference:
1 6
1 5 12
1 4 7 8
Now write down one further row of differences:
1 6
1 5 12
1 4 7 8
1 3 3 1
Show that this bottom row is the h-vector of ∆.
13. Find the f -vector and h-vector of the simplicial complex
whose geometric realization is the boundary of an icosahe-
dron.
14. Let ∆d be the simplicial complex on the vertex set V =
{x1, . . . , xd , y1 , . . . , yd} whose faces are those subsets of V
that do not contain both xi and yi , for any 1 ≤ i ≤ d.
Compute the h-vector of ∆d .
Cultural note. Let δi be the ith unit coordinate vector
in Rd . A geometric realization of ∆d consists of the bound-
ary of the convex hull Cd of the vectors ±δi , 1 ≤ i ≤ d. The
polytope C is called the d-dimensional cross-polytope and is
a d-dimensional generalization of an octahedron, the case
d = 3.
15. Give an example of two simplicial complexes ∆1 and ∆2
such that the geometric realizations of ∆1 and ∆2 are home-
omorphic, the h-vector of ∆1 is nonnegative, and some
hi (∆2) < 0. What is the smallest possible dimension of
∆1 and ∆2?

50
16. (difficult from first principles) (*) Let ∆ be a triangulation
of a (d−1)-dimensional sphere, and let h(∆) = (h0 , h1 , . . . , hd ).
Show that hi = hd−i for 0 ≤ i ≤ d. This result is called the
Dehn-Sommerville equations for spheres.
17. Let h = (h0 , h1, . . . , hd ) and k = (k0, k1, . . . , kd ) be e-
vectors. Define
h ∧ k = (min{h0 , k0}, min{h1 , k1}, . . . , min{hd , kd })
h ∨ k = (max{h0 , k0}, max{h1 , k1}, . . . , max{hd , kd }).
Show that h ∧ k and h ∨ k are e-vectors.
18. (*) Suppose that Γ and ∆ are simplicial complexes whose
face rings K[Γ] and K[∆] are isomorphic as K-algebras (or
even as rings). Show that Γ and ∆ are isomorphic.
19. Show that a regular sequence θ1, . . . , θj ∈ K[∆]1 is alge-
braically independent over K.
20. (a) Let θ1 , . . . , θj ∈ K[∆]1 be a regular sequence. Show
that any permutation of this sequence is also a regular
sequence.
(b) Show that each θi is an NZD in K[∆].
21. Let ∆ be any (d − 1)-dimensional simplicial complex, and
let θ1, . . . , θd ∈ K[∆]1. Show that the quotient ring R =
K[∆]/(θ1, . . . , θd ) is a finite-dimensional vector space over
K if and only if θ1, . . . , θd satisfy Property (P).
22. Show that the face ring K[∆] of a simplicial complex ∆ has
depth one if and only if ∆ is disconnected. Deduce that a
disconnected simplicial complex of dimension at least one
is not Cohen-Macaulay.

51
23. Let Γ and ∆ be simplicial complexes on disjoint vertex sets
V and W , respectively. Define the join Γ ∗ ∆ to be the
simplicial complex on the vertex set V ∪W with faces F ∪G,
where F ∈ Γ and G ∈ ∆. (If Γ consists of a single point,
then Γ ∗ ∆ is the cone over ∆. If Γ consists of two disjoint
points, then Γ ∗ ∆ is the suspension of ∆.)
(a) Compute the h-vector h(Γ ∗ ∆) in terms of h(Γ) and
h(∆).
(b) Show that if Γ and ∆ are Cohen-Macaulay, then so is
Γ ∗ ∆.
(c) Generalizing Exercise 7, show that if Γ and ∆ are shellable,
then so is Γ ∗ ∆.
24. Let ∆ be a one-dimensional simplicial complex. Show that
the following three conditions are equivalent: (a) ∆ is Cohen-
Macaulay, (b) ∆ is shellable, and (c) ∆ is connected.
25. Complete the proof of Theorem 13.25 by showing that the
sequence σ is a shelling of ∆ with the stated restrictions
Gk .
26. (*) Let ∆ be a four-dimensional shellable simplicial complex
with f0 = 13, f1 = 50, and f2 = 129. What is the most
number of facets that ∆ can have?
27. (*) Let ∆ be a (d − 1)-dimensional Cohen-Macaulay sim-
plicial complex with h-vector (h0 , h1, . . . , hd ). Let ∆′ be
a (d − 1)-dimensional Cohen-Macaulay subcomplex of ∆
with h-vector (h′0 , h′1, . . . , h′d ). Show that h′i ≤ hi for all
0 ≤ i ≤ d.

52
 28. (*) Let ∆ be a (d − 1)-dimensional simplicial complex on
the vertex set V . We say that ∆ is balanced if we can write
V as a disjoint union V = V1 ∪ V2 ∪ · · · ∪ Vd such that for
every F ∈ ∆ and every 1 ≤ i ≤ d we have #(F ∩ Vi ) ≤ 1.
In particular, if ∆ is pure then always #(F ∩ Vi ) = 1.
(Sometimes ∆ is required to be pure in the definition of
balanced.) Suppose that (h0, h1 , . . . , hd ) is the h-vector of
a Cohen-Macaulay balanced simplicial complex ∆. Show
that (h1 , h2, . . . , hd ) is the f -vector of a balanced simplicial
complex. You may assume the following result: let ∆ be a
Cohen-Macaulay simplicial complex of dimension d − 1. If
θ1, . . . , θd ∈ K[∆]1 satisfies (P) if and only if θ1, . . . , θd is a
regular sequence.

Hints for Some Exercises

13.9. Compute the reduced Euler characteristic of X and con-

sider the last step of a possible shelling.
13.11. There are two examples with f -vector (6, 14, 9) and none
smaller.
13.16. The following property of triangulations ∆ of spheres is
sufficient for solving this exercise. For every F ∈ ∆ we
have
χ̃(lk∆ (F )) = (−1)dim lk∆ (F ) .
Here χ̃ denotes reduced Euler characteristic, and lk denotes
link, as defined in Remark 13.26.
13.18. One approach is to consider minimal ideals I of K[Γ], say,
for which K[Γ]/I is a polynomial ring, i.e., isomorphic to
K[y1, . . . , yr ] for indeterminates y1, . . . , yr .

53
13.26. Answer: 325.
13.27. Let I be the ideal of K[∆] generated by all monomials xF ,
where F 6∈ ∆′. Clearly K[∆′] is isomorphic to K[∆]/I (as
a K-algebra). Let θ1, . . . , θd ∈ K[∆]1 satisfy Property (P),
and consider the natural map

f : K[∆]/(θ1, . . . , θd ) → (K[∆]/I)/(θ1, . . . , θd).

P
13.28. Consider θi ∈ K[∆]1 defined by θi = xj ∈Vi xj . Also con-
sider the product xj θi in the ring K[∆]/(θ1, . . . , θd ) for all
1 ≤ i ≤ d and xj ∈ Vi .

54
Index
affine span, 3 reduced, 20
affine subspace, 3 Euler, Leonhard, 5
dimension, 3 e-vector (of a multicomplex), 30
affinely independent, 3
face
balanced, see simplicial complex, bal- missing, 23
anced of a simplex, 3
Bruggesser, Heinz, 42 of a simplicial complex, 1
Bruns, Winfried, 43 face ring, see ring, face
facet, 1
Clements, George F., 42, 43 Flores, A., 42
Cohen, Irvin Sol, 43 f -vector, 7
Cohen-Macaulay face ring, see ring,
face, Cohen-Macaulay geometric realization, 4
Cohen-Macaulay simplicial complex, Greene, Curtis, 42
see simplicial complex, Cohen-
Macaulay Herzog, Jürgen, 43
compressed multicomplex, see multi- Hilbert series, 24
complex, compressed Hochster, Melvin, 42
compressed simplicial complex, see sim-homogeneous ideal, 32
plicial complex, compressed h-vector (of a simplicial complex), 18
cone, 16, 51 i-face, 2
convex hull, 2
convex set, 2 join (of simplicial complexes), 51
cross-polytope, 50
Katona, Gyula O. H., 9, 42
Dehn-Sommerville equations, 50 Kind, Bernd, 43
depth, 28 Kleinschmidt, Peter, 43
dimension Kleitman, Daniel J., 42
Krull, 26 Krull dimension, see dimension, Krull
of a face, 1 Kruskal, Joseph Bernard, 9, 42
divides (as a relation on monomials), Kruskal-Katona theorem, 9
31
dunce hat, topological, 47 Lindström, Bernt, 42, 43
link (of a face of a simplicial com-
Euler characteristic, 20 plex), 38

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Macaulay, Francis Sowerby, 30, 43 Schützenberger, Marcel-Paul, 9, 42
Mani, Peter, 42 shellable, see simplicial complex, shellable
Matous̆ek, Jir̄ı́, 42 shelling, 14
matroid complex, 46 partial, 48
Menger, Karl, 5, 42 shelling order, 14
minimal nonface, see nonface, mini- simplex, 3
mal dimension, 3
missing face, see face, missing simplices, 3
Möbius, August Ferdinand, 5 simplicial complex, 1
multicomplex, 30 abstract, 1
compressed, 41 balanced, 52
M-vector, 30 Cohen-Macaulay, 29
compressed, 13
nonface, 23 geometric, 4
minimal, 23 pure, 14
non-zero-divisor, 26 shellable, 14
NZD, 26 Sperner, Emanuel, 43
octahedron, 5 Stanley, Richard Peter, 42
order ideal of monomials, 30, 31 Stanley-Reisner ring, see ring, Stanley-
O-sequence, 30 Reisner
subcomplex (of a simplicial complex),
partial shelling, see shelling, partial 14
pure, see simplicial complex, pure support (of a monomial), 24
suspension, 51
reduced Euler characteristic, see Eu-
ler characteristic, reduced topological dunce hat, see dunce hat,
regular sequence, 28 topological
Reisner, Gerald Allen, 38, 42 topological invariant, 20
restriction triangulation, 5
of a facet in a shelling, 14
of a simplicial complex, 46 unmixedness, 43
reverse lex order, 10 van Kampen, Egbert Rudolf, 42
on monomials, 32 vertex (of a geometric simplicial com-
reverse lexicographic order, 10 plex), 3
ring vertex set (of a simplicial complex), 1
face, 24
Cohen-Macaulay, 29 Whipple, Francis John Welsh, 43
Stanley-Reisner, 24

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