Related papers: $k$-loose elements and $k$-paving matroids
A simple binary matroid is called $I_4$-free if none of its rank-4 flats are independent sets. These objects can be equivalently defined as the sets $E$ of points in $PG(n-1,2)$ for which $|E \cap F|$ is not a basis of $F$ for any…
It has been conjectured that sparse paving matroids will eventually predominate in any asymptotic enumeration of matroids, i.e. that $\lim_{n\rightarrow\infty} s_n/m_n = 1$, where $m_n$ denotes the number of matroids on $n$ elements, and…
A simple binary matroid, viewed as a restriction of a finite binary projective geometry $PG(n-1,2)$, is $I_{1,t}$-free if for any rank-$t$ flat of $PG(n-1,2)$, its intersection with the matroid is not a one-element set. In this paper, we…
There is a long list of open questions rooted in the same underlying problem: understanding the structure of bases or common bases of matroids. These conjectures suggest that matroids may possess much stronger structural properties than are…
The problem of combinatorially determining the rank of the 3-dimensional bar-joint {\em rigidity matroid} of a graph is an important open problem in combinatorial rigidity theory. Maxwell's condition states that the edges of a graph $G=(V,…
A $k$-ranking of a graph $G$ is a labeling of its vertices from $\{1,\ldots,k\}$ such that any nontrivial path whose endpoints have the same label contains a larger label. The least $k$ for which $G$ has a $k$-ranking is the ranking number…
We show that, if $q$ is a prime power at most 5, then every rank-$r$ matroid with no $U_{2,q+2}$-minor has no more lines than a rank-$r$ projective geometry over GF$(q)$. We also give examples showing that for every other prime power this…
A set $S\subseteq 2^E$ of subsets of a finite set $E$ is \emph{powerful} if, for all $X\subseteq E$, the number of subsets of $X$ in $S$ is a power of 2. Each powerful set is associated with a non-negative integer valued function, which we…
We prove that, for each nonnegative integer k and each matroid N, if M is a 3-connected matroid containing N as a minor, and the the branch width of M is sufficiently large, then there is a k-element subset X of E(M) such that one of M\X…
In the first part of the paper, we clarify the connections between several algebraic objects appearing in matroid theory: both partial fields and hyperfields are fuzzy rings, fuzzy rings are tracts, and these relations are compatible with…
This paper defines the q-analogue of a matroid and establishes several properties like duality, restriction and contraction. We discuss possible ways to define a q-matroid, and why they are (not) cryptomorphic. Also, we explain the…
Let $r$, $n$ be positive integers, $k$ be a non-negative integer and $q$ be any prime power such that $r\mid q^n-1.$ An element $\alpha$ of the finite field $\mathbb{F}_{q^n}$ is called an {\it $r$-primitive} element, if its multiplicative…
Let $\mathbf{A}_{n,m;k}$ be a random $n \times m$ matrix with entries from some field $\mathbb{F}$ where there are exactly $k$ non-zero entries in each column, whose locations are chosen independently and uniformly at random from the set of…
In the matroid secretary problem, elements $N := [n]$ of a matroid $\mathcal{M} \subseteq 2^N$ arrive in random order. When an element arrives, its weight is revealed and a choice must be made to accept or reject the element, subject to the…
For a matroid with an ordered (or "labelled") basis, a basis exchange step removes one element with label $l$ and replaces it by a new element that results in a new basis, and with the new element assigned label $l$. We prove that one…
The {\em Dressian} of a matroid $M$ is the set of all valuations of $M$. This Dressian is the support of a polyhedral complex $\mathcal{Dr}(M)$ whose open cells correspond 1-1 with matroid subdivisions of the matroid polytope of $M$. We…
We show that the number of linear spaces on a set of $n$ points and the number of rank-3 matroids on a ground set of size $n$ are both of the form $(cn+o(n))^{n^2/6}$, where $c=e^{\sqrt 3/2-3}(1+\sqrt 3)/2$. This is the final piece of the…
The $\mathit{growth\ rate\ function}$ for a nonempty minor-closed class of matroids $\mathcal{M}$ is the function $h_{\mathcal{M}}(n)$ whose value at an integer $n \ge 0$ is defined to be the maximum number of elements in a simple matroid…
For a matroid $M$ having $m$ rank-one flats, the density $d(M)$ is $\tfrac{m}{r(M)}$ unless $m = 0$, in which case $d(M)= 0$. A matroid is density-critical if all of its proper minors of non-zero rank have lower density. By a 1965 theorem…
This paper studies the properties of two kinds of matroids: (a) algebraic matroids and (b) finite and infinite matroids whose ground set have some canonical symmetry, for example row and column symmetry and transposition symmetry. For (a)…