The arithmetic rank of the residual intersections of a complete intersection ideal

Abstract The arithmetic rank of an ideal in a polynomial ring over an algebraically closed field is the smallest number of equations needed to define its vanishing locus set-theoretically. We determine the arithmetic rank of the generic $m$-residual intersection of an ideal generated by $n$ indeterminates for all $m\geq n$ and in every characteristic. We further give an explicit description of its set-theoretic generators. Our main result provides a sharp upper bound for the arithmetic rank of any residual intersection of a complete intersection ideal in any Noetherian local ring. In particular, given a complete intersection ideal of height at least two, any of its generic residual intersections—including its generic link—fails to be a set-theoretic complete intersection in characteristic zero.