Related papers: Towards a Splitter Theorem for Internally $4$-conn…

We prove that the non-regular binary matroids with no $P_9^*$-minor have linear growth rate and the maximum size binary matroids with no $P_9^*$-minor are graphic. The main technique in the proof is the Strong Splitter Theorem using which…

We prove that for each prime power $q$ there is an integer $n$ such that if $M$ is a $3$-connected, representable matroid with a PG$(n-1,q)$-minor and no $U_{2,q^2+1}$-minor, then $M$ is representable over GF$(q)$. We also show that for…

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…

The problem of finding the minimum rank of a matrix with a given zero-nonzero pattern has been generalized to a class of matroids associated to the pattern. The fundamental lower bound known as the triangle number still holds in this…

A $3$-connected graph $G$ is essentially $4$-connected if, for any $3$-cut $S\subseteq V(G)$ of $G$, at most one component of $G-S$ contains at least two vertices. We prove that every essentially $4$-connected maximal planar graph $G$ on…

Given a symmetric matrix $M\in \{0,1,*\}^{D\times D}$, an $M$-partition of a graph $G$ is a function from $V(G)$ to $D$ such that no edge of $G$ is mapped to a $0$ of $M$ and no non-edge to a $1$. We give a computer-assisted proof that,…

We show that, for each real number $\epsilon > 0$ there is an integer $c$ such that, if $M$ is a simple triangle-free binary matroid with $|M| \ge (\tfrac{1}{4} + \epsilon) 2^{r(M)}$, then $M$ has critical number at most $c$. We also give a…

We exhibit several families of planar graphs that are minor-minimal intrinsically spherical $3$-linked. A graph is intrinsically spherical 3-linked if it is planar graph that has, in every spherical embedding, a non-split 3-link consisting…

We generalize the well-studied notion of a modular pair of a finite matroid to arbitrary families of sets in infinite matroids, and use it to develop the theory of infinite matroids in several as-yet-unexplored areas. Our results include a…

The web of dual gauge theories engineered from a class of toric Calabi-Yau threefolds is explored. In previous work, we have argued for a triality structure by compiling evidence for the fact that every such manifold $X_{N,M}$ (for given…

A planar graph is essentially $4$-connected if it is 3-connected and every of its 3-separators is the neighborhood of a single vertex. Jackson and Wormald proved that every essentially 4-connected planar graph $G$ on $n$ vertices contains a…

Every large $k$-connected graph-minor induces a $k$-tangle in its ambient graph. The converse holds for $k\le 3$, but fails for $k\ge 4$. This raises the question whether `$k$-connected' can be relaxed to obtain a characterisation of…

In this sequel to "Foundations of matroids - Part 1", we establish several presentations of the foundation of a matroid in terms of small building blocks. For example, we show that the foundation of a matroid M is the colimit of the…

Let $M$ be a matroid. We study the expansions of $M$ mainly to see how the combinatorial properties of $M$ and its expansions are related to each other. It is shown that $M$ is a graphic, binary or a transversal matroid if and only if an…

Let $G=(V,E)$ be a connected graph. A subset $S\subset V$ is a cut of $G$ if $G-S$ is disconnected. A near triangulation is a 2-connected plane graph that has at most one face that is not a triangle. In this paper, we explore minimal cuts…

Let M be a (possibly non-orientable) compact 3-manifold with (possibly empty) boundary consisting of tori and Klein bottles. Let $X\subset\partial M$ be a trivalent graph such that $\partial M\setminus X$ is a union of one disc for each…

Given a matroid $M=(E,{\cal I})$, and a total ordering over the elements $E$, a broken circuit is a circuit where the smallest element is removed and an NBC independent set is an independent set in ${\cal I}$ with no broken circuit. The set…

A simple binary matroid is called claw-free if none of its rank-3 flats are independent sets. These objects can be equivalently defined as the sets $E$ of points in $\mathrm{PG}(n-1,2)$ for which $|E \cap P|$ is not a basis of $P$ for any…

We prove a splitter theorem for tight multimatroids, generalizing the corresponding result for matroids, obtained independently by Brylawski and Seymour. Further corollaries give splitter theorems for delta-matroids and ribbon graphs.

A link in the 3-sphere is called (smoothly) slice if its components bound disjoint smoothly embedded disks in the 4-ball. More generally, given a 4-manifold M with a distinguished circle in its boundary, a link in the 3-sphere is called…