On the componentwise linearity and the minimal free resolution of a tetrahedral curve

A tetrahedral curve is an unmixed, usually nonreduced, one-dimensional subscheme of projective 3-space whose homogeneous ideal is the intersection of powers of the ideals of the six coordinate lines. The second and third authors have shown that these curves have very nice combinatorial properties, and they have made a careful study of the even liaison classes of these curves. We build on this work by showing that they are “almost always” componentwise linear, i.e., their homogeneous ideals have the property that for any d, the degree d component of the ideal generates a new ideal whose minimal free resolution is linear. The one type of exception is clearly spelled out and studied as well. The main technique is a careful study of the way that basic double linkage behaves on tetrahedral curves, and the connection to the tetrahedral curves that are minimal in their even liaison classes. With this preparation, we also describe the minimal free resolution of a tetrahedral curve, and in particular we show that in any fixed even liaison class there are only finitely many tetrahedral curves with linear resolution. Finally, we begin the study of the generic initial ideal (gin) of a tetrahedral curve. We produce the gin for arithmetically Cohen–Macaulay tetrahedral curves and for minimal arithmetically Buchsbaum tetrahedral curves, and we show how to obtain it for any nonminimal tetrahedral curve in terms of the gin of the minimal curve in that even liaison class.