On the regularity and defect sequence of monomial and binomial ideals

When S is a polynomial ring or more generally a standard graded algebra over a field K, with homogeneous maximal ideal m, it is known that for an ideal I of S, the regularity of powers of I becomes eventually a linear function, i.e., reg(Im) = dm + e for m ≫ 0 and some integers d, e. This motivates writing reg(Im) = dm + em for every m ⩾ 0. The sequence em, called the defect sequence of the ideal I, is the subject of much research and its nature is still widely unexplored. We know that em is eventually constant. In this article, after proving various results about the regularity of monomial ideals and their powers, we give several bounds and restrictions on em and its first differences when…