Related papers: Towards a splitter theorem for internally 4-connec…
It follows by Bixby's Lemma that if $e$ is an element of a $3$-connected matroid $M$, then either ${\rm co}(M\delete e)$, the cosimplification of $M\delete e$, or ${\rm si}(M/e)$, the simplification of $M/e$, is $3$-connected. A natural…
Halin proved that every minimally $k$-connected graph has a vertex of degree $k$. More generally, does every minimally vertically $k$-connected matroid have a $k$-element cocircuit? Results of Murty and Wong give an affirmative answer when…
In this paper, we investigate three problems concerning the toric ideal associated to a matroid. Firstly, we list all matroids $\mathcal M$ such that its corresponding toric ideal $I_{\mathcal M}$ is a complete intersection. Secondly, we…
A graph G is weakly 4-connected if it is 3-connected, has at least five vertices, and for every pair of sets (A,B) with union V(G) and intersection of size three such that no edge has one end in A-B and the other in B-A, one of the induced…
Let $M$ be a $3$-connected matroid. A pair $\{e,f\}$ in $M$ is detachable if $M \backslash e \backslash f$ or $M / e / f$ is $3$-connected. Williams (2015) proved that if $M$ has at least 13 elements, then at least one of the following…
Consider a random $n\times m$ matrix $A$ over the finite field of order $q$ where every column has precisely $k$ nonzero elements, and let $M[A]$ be the matroid represented by $A$. In the case that q=2, Cooper, Frieze and Pegden (RS\&A…
Generalizing a well known theorem for finite matroids, we prove that for every (infinite) connected matroid M there is a unique tree T such that the nodes of T correspond to minors of M that are either 3-connected or circuits or cocircuits,…
We prove that if M is a vertically 4-connected matroid with a modular flat X of rank at least three, then every representation of M | X over a finite field F extends to a unique F-representation of M. A corollary is that when F has order q,…
If $\mathcal{C}$ is a minor-closed class of matroids, the class $\mathcal{C}'$ of integer polymatroids whose natural matroids are in $\mathcal{C}$ is also minor closed, as is the class $\mathcal{C}'_k$ of $k$-polymatroids in $\mathcal{C}'$.…
Given a simple Eulerian binary matroid $M$, what is the minimum number of disjoint circuits necessary to decompose $M$? We prove that $|M| / (\operatorname{rank}(M) + 1)$ many circuits suffice if $M = \mathbb F_2^n \setminus \{0\}$ is the…
We establish the following splitter theorem for graphs and its generalization for matroids: Let $G$ and $H$ be $3$-connected simple graphs such that $G$ has an $H$-minor and $k:=|V(G)|-|V(H)|\ge 2$. Let $n:=\left\lceil k/2\right\rceil+1$.…
Let ${\bf A}={\bf A}_{n,m,k}$ be a random $n\times m$ matrix over $\mathbf{GF}_2$ wher each column consists of $k$ randomly chosen ones. Let $M$ be an arbirary fixed binary matroid. We show that if $m/n$ and $k$ are sufficiently large then…
Given an $n$-connected binary matroid, we obtain a necessary and sufficient condition for its single-element coextensions to be $n$-connected.
We prove, by means of an exact structural description, that every simple triangle-free binary matroid $M$ with $|M| > \tfrac{33}{128}2^{r(M)}$ has critical number at most $2$.
Let $M$ be a representable matroid, and $Q, R, S, T$ subsets of the ground set. We prove that, if $M$ is sufficiently large, then there is an element $e$ such that deleting or contracting $e$ preserves both the $Q$-$R$ and the $S$-$T$…
We determine the smallest simple triangle-free binary matroids that have no five-element independent flat. This solves a special case of a conjecture of Nelson and Norin.
If S is a set of matroids, then the matroid M is S-fragile if, for every element e in E(M), either M\e or M/e has no minor isomorphic to a member of S. Excluded-minor characterizations often depend, implicitly or explicitly, on…
Let $M$ be a 3-connected binary matroid and let $Y(M)$ be the set of elements of $M$ avoiding at least $r(M)+1$ non-separating cocircuits of $M$. Lemos proved that $M$ is non-graphic if and only if $Y(M)\neq\emp$. We generalize this result…
If $M$ is a matroid, then a simple matroid $M'$ with the same rank as $M$ is an adjoint of $M$ if there is an inclusion-reversing embedding $\phi$ of the lattice of flats of $M$ into the lattice of flats of $M'$ such that $\phi$ maps the…
Let $\mathcal{N}$ be a set of matroids. A matroid $M$ is strictly $\mathcal{N}$-fragile if $M$ has a member of $\mathcal{N}$ as minor and, for all $e \in E(M)$, at least one of $M\backslash e$ and $M/e$ has no minor in $\mathcal{N}$. In…