Rees algebras of complementary edge ideals

Abstract: In this paper we investigate the Rees algebras of squarefree monomial ideals $I \subset S=K[x_1,\dots,x_n]$ generated in degree $n-2$, where $K$ is a field. Every such ideal arises as the complementary edge ideal $I_c(G)$ of a finite simple graph $G$. We describe the defining equations of the Rees algebra $\mathcal{R}(I_c(G))$ in terms of the combinatorics of $G$. When $G$ is a bipartite or a connected unicyclic graph, we show that $\mathcal{R}(I_c(G))$ is a normal Cohen-Macaulay domain. If $G$ is a tree or a unicyclic graph whose unique induced cycle has length $3$ or $4$, we further prove that $\mathcal{R}(I_c(G))$ is Koszul. We also determine the asymptotic depth of the powers of $I_c(G)$, proving that $\lim_{k \to \infty}\text{depth}\, S/I_c(G)^k=b(G)$, where $b(G)$ is the number of bipartite connected components of $G$. Finally, we show that the index of depth stability of $I_c(G)$ is at most $n-2$, and equality holds when $G$ is a path graph.