Global Rank Axioms for Poset Matroids

An excellent introduction to the topic of poset matroids is due to Barnabei, Nicoletti and Pezzoli. In this paper, we investigate the rank axioms for poset matroids; thereby we can characterize poset matroids in a “global” version and a “pseudo-global” version. Some corresponding properties of combinatorial schemes are also obtained.     

Two constructions of oriented matroids with disconnected extension space

The extension space ℰ(ℳ) of an oriented matroid ℳ is the poset of all one-element extensions of ℳ, considered as a simplicial complex. We present two different constructions leading to rank 4 oriented matroids with disconnected extension space. We prove especially that if an elementf is not contained in any mutation of a rank 4 oriented matroid ℳ, then ℰ(ℳ\f) contains an isolated point. A uniform nonrealizable arrangement of pseudoplanes with this property is presented. The examples described contrast results of Sturmfels and Ziegler [12] who proved that for rank 3 oriented matroids the extension space has the homotopy type of the 2-sphere.     

Mod 2 cohomology of combinatorial Grassmannians

Matroid bundles, introduced by MacPherson, are combinatorial analogues of real vector bundles. This paper sets up the foundations of matroid bundles. It defines a natural transformation from isomorphism classes of real vector bundles to isomorphism classes of matroid bundles. It then gives a transformation from matroid bundles to spherical quasifibrations, by showing that the geometric realization of a matroid bundle is a spherical quasifibration. The poset of oriented matroids of a fixed rank classifies matroid bundles, and the above transformations give a splitting from topology to combinatorics back to topology. A consequence is that the mod 2 cohomology of the poset of rank k oriented matroids (this poset classifies matroid bundles) contains the free polynomial ring on the first k Stiefel-Whitney classes.     

Matroid Enumeration for Incidence Geometry

Matroids are combinatorial abstractions for point configurations and hyperplane arrangements, which are fundamental objects in discrete geometry. Matroids merely encode incidence information of geometric configurations such as collinearity or coplanarity, but they are still enough to describe many problems in discrete geometry, which are called incidence problems. We investigate two kinds of incidence problem, the points–lines–planes conjecture and the so-called Sylvester–Gallai type problems derived from the Sylvester–Gallai theorem, by developing a new algorithm for the enumeration of non-isomorphic matroids. We confirm the conjectures of Welsh–Seymour on ≤11 points in ℝ³ and that of Motzkin on ≤12 lines in ℝ², extending previous results. With respect to matroids, this algorithm succeeds to enumerate a complete list of the isomorph-free rank 4 matroids on 10 elements. When geometric configurations corresponding to specific matroids are of interest in some incidence problems, they should be analyzed on oriented matroids. Using an encoding of oriented matroid axioms as a boolean satisfiability (SAT) problem, we also enumerate oriented matroids from the matroids of rank 3 on n≤12 elements and rank 4 on n≤9 elements. We further list several new minimal non-orientable matroids.     

A matroid-friendly basis for the quasisymmetric functions

A new Z-basis for the space of quasisymmetric functions (QSym, for short) is presented. It is shown to have nonnegative structure constants, and several interesting properties relative to the quasisymmetric functions associated to matroids by the Hopf algebra morphism F of Billera, Jia, and Reiner [L.J. Billera, N. Jia, V. Reiner, A quasisymmetric function for matroids, arXiv:math.CO/0606646]. In particular, for loopless matroids, this basis reflects the grading by matroid rank, as well as by the size of the ground set. It is shown that the morphism F distinguishes isomorphism classes of rank two matroids, and that decomposability of the quasisymmetric function of a rank two matroid mirrors the decomposability of its base polytope. An affirmative answer to the Hilbert basis question raised in [L.J. Billera, N. Jia, V. Reiner, A quasisymmetric function for matroids, arXiv:math.CO/0606646] is given.     

An axiomatization of the Banzhaf value for cooperative games on antimatroids

Cooperative games on antimatroids are cooperative games in which coalition formation is restricted by a combinatorial structure which generalizes permission structures. These games group several well-known families of games which have important applications in economics and politics. The current paper establishes axioms that determine the restricted Banzhaf value for cooperative games on antimatroids. The set of given axioms generalizes the axiomatizations given for the Banzhaf permission values. We also give an axomatization of the restricted Banzhaf value for the smaller class of poset antimatroids. Finally, we apply the above results to auction situations.     

Excluding a bipartite circle graph from line graphs

We prove that, for a fixed bipartite circle graph H, all line graphs with sufficiently large rank‐width (or clique‐width) must have a pivot‐minor isomorphic to H. To prove this, we introduce graphic delta‐matroids. Graphic delta‐matroids are minors of delta‐matroids of line graphs and they generalize graphic and cographic matroids. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Graph Theory 60: 183–203, 2009     

Strongly inequivalent representations and Tutte polynomials of matroids

We develop constructive techniques to show that non-isomorphic 3-connected matroids that are representable over a fixed finite field and that have the same Tutte polynomial abound. In particular, for most prime powers q, we construct infinite families of sets of 3-connected matroids for which the matroids in a given set are non-isomorphic, are representable over GF(q), and have the same Tutte polynomial. Furthermore, the cardinalities of the sets of matroids in a given family grow exponentially as a function of rank, and there are many such families.In Memory of Gian-Carlo Rota     

Global Dimension of Transitive Square-Free Rings

Each transitive square-free ring R has a canonical poset. In this paper we investigate connections between the structure of this poset and the projective dimensions of the simple R-modules. We then use these results to characterize the posets of transitive square-free rings with global dimension less than 3.     

On the number of non-isomorphic matroids

Let f(n) denote the number of non-isomorphic matroids on an n-element set. In 1969, Welsh conjectured that, for all non-negative integers m and n, f(m+n)f(m)f(n). In this paper, we prove this conjecture.     

Linear Equations for the Number of Intervals Which are Isomorphic with Boolean Lattices and the Dehn–Sommerville Equations

Let P be a finite poset. Let L: = J(P) denote the lattice of order ideals of P. Let b _i (L) denote the number of Boolean intervals of L of rank i.

We construct a simple graph G(P) from our poset P. Denote by f _i (P) the number of the cliques K _i+1, contained in the graph G(P).

Our main results are some linear equations connecting the numbers f _i (P) and b _i (L).

We reprove the Dehn–Sommerville equations for simplicial polytopes.

In our proof, we use free resolutions and the theory of Stanley–Reisner rings.     

Ideal secret sharing schemes whose minimal qualified subsets have at most three participants

One of the main open problems in secret sharing is the characterization of the access structures of ideal secret sharing schemes. Brickell and Davenport proved that every one of these ideal access structures is related in a certain way to a unique matroid. Specifically, they are matroid ports. In addition to the search of general results, this difficult open problem has been studied in previous works for several families of access structures. In this paper we do the same for access structures with rank 3, that is, structures whose minimal qualified subsets have at most three participants. We completely characterize and classify the rank-3 access structures that are matroid ports. We prove that all access structures with rank three that are ports of matroids greater than 3 are ideal. After the results in this paper, the only open problem in the characterization of the ideal access structures with rank three is to characterize the rank-3 matroids that can be represented by an ideal secret sharing scheme. A previous version of this paper appeared in Fifth Conference on Security and Cryptography for Networks, SCN 2006, Lecture Notes in Computer Science 4116 (2006) 201–215.     

Minimal non-orientable matroids of rank three

Minimal non-orientable matroids have been investigated as a threshold between orientability and non-orientability. The Fano matroid and the MacLane matroid are well-known minimal non-orientable matroids of rank 3. A natural question is whether there exists a minimal non-orientable matroid of every rank $r$ with $m$ elements. In this paper, we give an answer to the question in rank 3 that for every $m\ge 7$, there exists a minimal non-orientable matroid of rank 3 with $m$ elements. To prove this statement, we construct two new infinite families of minimal non-orientable matroids of rank 3. Furthermore we also investigate representability of the two infinite families.     

Harmonic conjugation in harmonic matroids

We study a generalization of the concept of harmonic conjugation from projective geometry and full algebraic matroids to a larger class of matroids called harmonic matroids. We use harmonic conjugation to construct a projective plane of prime order in harmonic matroids without using the axioms of projective geometry. As a particular case we have a combinatorial construction of a projective plane of prime order in full algebraic matroids.     

Combinatorial obstructions to the lifting of weaving diagrams

This paper deals with various connections of oriented matroids [3] and weaving diagrams of lines in space [9], [16], [27]. We encode the litability problem of a particular weaving diagramD onn lines by the realizability problem of a partial oriented matroid χ _D with2n elements in rank 4. We prove that the occurrence of a certain substructure inD implies that χD is noneuclidean in the sense of Edmonds, Fukuda, and Mandel [12], [14]. Using this criterion we construct an infinite class of minor-minimal noneuclidean oriented matroids in rank 4. Finally, we give an easy algebraic proof for the nonliftability of the alternating weaving diagram on a bipartite grid of 4×4 lines [16].     

The Holt–Klee condition for oriented matroids

Holt and Klee have recently shown that every (generic) LP orientation of the graph of a d-polytope satisfies a directed version of the d-connectivity property, i.e. there are d internally disjoint directed paths from a unique source to a unique sink. We introduce two new classes HK and HK* of oriented matroids (OMs) by enforcing this property and its dual interpretation in terms of line shellings, respectively. Both classes contain all representable OMs by the Holt–Klee theorem. While we give a construction of an infinite family of non-HK* OMs, it is not clear whether there exists any non-HK OM. This leads to a fundamental question as to whether the Holt–Klee theorem can be proven combinatorially by using the OM axioms only. Finally, we give the complete classification of OM(4, 8), the OMs of rank 4 on 8-element ground set with respect to the HK, HK*, Euclidean and Shannon properties. Our classification shows that there exists no non-HK OM in this class.     

Positive definite <Emphasis Type="Italic">n</Emphasis>-regular quadratic forms

A positive definite integral quadratic form f is called n-regular if f represents every quadratic form of rank n that is represented by the genus of f. In this paper, we show that for any integer n greater than or equal to 27, every n-regular (even) form f is (even) n-universal, that is, f represents all (even, respectively) positive definite integral quadratic forms of rank n. As an application, we show that the minimal rank of n-regular forms has an exponential lower bound for n as it increases.     

基于覆盖上近似算子的拟阵结构及其关系

Covering-based rough sets,as a technique of granular computing,can be a useful tool for dealing with inexact,uncertain or vague knowledge in information systems.Matroids generalize linear independence in vector spaces,graph theory and provide well established platforms for greedy algorithm design.In this paper,we construct three types of matroidal structures of covering-based rough sets.Moreover,through these three types of matroids,we study the relationships among these matroids induced by six types of covering-based upper approximation operators.First,we construct three families of sets by indiscernible neighborhoods,neighborhoods and close friends,respectively.Moreover,we prove that they satisfy independent set axioms of matroids.In this way,three types of matroidal structures of covering-based rough sets are constructed.Secondly,we study some characteristics of the three types of matroid,such as dependent sets,circuits,rank function and closure.Finally,by comparing independent sets,we study relationships among these matroids induced by six types of covering-based upper approximation operators.