Generic and Cogeneric Monomial Ideals

Monomial ideals which are generic with respect to either their generators or irreducible components have minimal free resolutions derived from simplicial complexes. For a generic monomial ideal, the associated primes satisfy a saturated chain condition, and the Cohen-Macaulay property implies shellability for both the Scarf complex and the Stanley-Reisner complex. Reverse lexicographic initial ideals of generic lattice ideals are generic. Cohen-Macaulayness for cogeneric ideals is characterized combinatorially; in the cogeneric case the Cohen-Macaulay type is greater than or equal to the number of irreducible components. Methods of proof include Alexander duality and Stanley's theory of local h-vectors.