Matchings and \(\Delta\)-matroids with coefficients (Q1914789)

The authors study \(\Delta\)-matroids defined by the perfect matchings of a simple graph. A \(\Delta\)-matroid is a set system introduced by \textit{A. Bouchet} [Discrete Appl. Math. 24, No. 1-3, 55-62 (1989; Zbl 0708.05014)] in connection with optimization problems. It generalizes the concept of a matroid properly (e.g., the set of even subsets of a set is a \(\Delta\)-matroid but not a matroid). Another result by A. Bouchet shows that if \(G\) is a simple graph then the set \(M_\Delta(G)\) of subsets of the vertex set of the graph that allow a perfect matching for a set system, satisfies the axioms of a \(\Delta\)-matroid. The main result of the paper shows that \(\Delta\)-matroids of the form \(M_\Delta(G)\) are representable over fields of arbitrary characteristic. It is shown that weightings of the edge set with values in a linearly ordered Abelian group give rise to valuated \(\Delta\)-matroids. In the final section the authors give a description of the Tutte group of the \(\Delta\)-matroid \(M_\Delta(G)\).