Combinatorial derived matroids (Q2699657)

Summary: Let \(M\) be an arbitrary matroid with circuits \(\mathcal{C}(M)\). We propose a definition of a derived matroid \(\delta M\) that has as its ground set \(\mathcal{C}(M)\). Unlike previous attempts of such a definition, our definition applies to arbitrary matroids, and is completely combinatorial. We prove that the rank of \(\delta M\) is bounded from above by \(\vert M\vert-r(M)\) and that it is connected if and only if \(M\) is connected. We compute examples including the derived matroids of uniform matroids, the Vámos matroid and the graphical matroid \(M(K_4)\). We formulate conjectures relating our construction to previous definitions of derived matroids.