Strong splitter theorem (Q404393)

The splitter theorem [\textit{P. D. Seymour}, J. Comb. Theory, Ser. B. 28, 305--359 (1980; Zbl 0443.05027)] is one of the main tools employed by matroid theorists to set up proofs by induction. It shows that, if \(M\) is a 3-connected matroid with a 3-connected minor \(N\), then we can find some element of \(M\) whose deletion or contraction is again 3-connected with a minor isomorphic to \(N\), with a few exceptions. The exceptions relate to two special families of matroids, the wheels and whirls. Repeatedly applying this result yields a sequence \(M_0, M_1, \ldots, M_k\) of 3-connected matroids, with \(M_0\) isomorphic to \(N\), with \(M_k = M\), and with \(M_{i-1}\) obtained from \(M_i\) by a single-element deletion or contraction. The authors of the present paper prove the existence of a similar sequence \(M_0, \ldots, M_m, M_{m+1}, \ldots, M_k\) of 3-connected matroids with \(M_0\) isomorphic to \(N\), with \(M_k\) isomorphic to \(M\), with \(m = r(M) - r(N)\), such that \(M_{i-1}\) is a minor of \(M_i\), and for \(i \in \{1, \ldots, m\}\), \(r(M_i) - r(M_{i-1}) = 1\) and \(|E(M_i) - E(M_{i-1})| \leq 3\), whereas for \(i \in \{m+1, \ldots, k\}\), \(r(M_i) = r(M_k)\) and \(|E(M_i) - E(M_{i-1})| = 1\). In other words, one can ensure the rank increases by 1 in each of the initial steps, at the potential cost of increasing the size by up to 3 elements. They characterize the 3-element move exactly. Moreover, the authors use the result to characterize a certain subclass of the almost-regular matroids.