A unique factorization theorem for matroids

DOI10.1016/J.JCTA.2005.02.004MaRDI QIDQ2575804zbMATH OpenOpenAlexFDO

Authors Yanyan Li

Publication date 6 December 2005

Published in Journal of Combinatorial Theory. Series A (Search for Journal in Brave)

Full work available at URL https://arxiv.org/abs/math/0409099

zbMATH Keywords

Free algebraFree productCofree coalgebraMinor coalgebra

Mathematics Subject Classification ID

Exact enumeration problems, generating functions (05A15) Combinatorial aspects of matroids and geometric lattices (05B35) Algebraic aspects of posets (06A11) Free nonassociative algebras (17A50)

Abstract: We study the combinatorial, algebraic and geometric properties of the free product operation on matroids. After giving cryptomorphic definitions of free product in terms of independent sets, bases, circuits, closure, flats and rank function, we show that free product, which is a noncommutative operation, is associative and respects matroid duality. The free product of matroids $M$ and $N$ is maximal with respect to the weak order among matroids having $M$ as a submatroid, with complementary contraction equal to $N$. Any minor of the free product of $M$ and $N$ is a free product of a repeated truncation of the corresponding minor of $M$ with a repeated Higgs lift of the corresponding minor of $N$. We characterize, in terms of their cyclic flats, matroids that are irreducible with respect to free product, and prove that the factorization of a matroid into a free product of irreducibles is unique up to isomorphism. We use these results to determine, for K a field of characteristic zero, the structure of the minor coalgebra $calC$ of a family of matroids $calM$ that is closed under formation of minors and free products: namely, $calC$ is cofree, cogenerated by the set of irreducible matroids belonging to $calM$.

Recommendations

• Factorization theorems for strong maps between matroids of arbitrary cardinality
• scientific article; zbMATH DE number 1013842
• Menger's theorem for matroids
• Unique representability and matroid reconstruction
• scientific article; zbMATH DE number 1808171
• scientific article; zbMATH DE number 4097402
• A characterization of uniform matroids
• A Tverberg type theorem for matroids
• scientific article; zbMATH DE number 4023304
• An Erdős-Gallai theorem for matroids

Cites work

• scientific article; zbMATH DE number 420868 (Why is no real title available?)
• scientific article; zbMATH DE number 3534506 (Why is no real title available?)
• A bound for the number of matroids
• A free subalgebra of the algebra of matroids
• Incidence Hopf algebras
• Lattice path matroids: Enumerative aspects and Tutte polynomials
• Single-element extensions of matroids
• Strong maps of geometries
• The Catalan matroid
• The free product of matroids

Cited in

(17)

• Connectivity gaps among matroids with the same enumerative invariants
• A matroid-friendly basis for the quasisymmetric functions
• A quasisymmetric function for matroids
• Hopf monoids of ordered simplicial complexes
• The free product of \(M\)-fuzzifying matroids
• The free product of matroids
• A characterization of positroids, with applications to amalgams and excluded minors
• The intersection ring of matroids
• Splicing matroids
• The \(\mathcal{G}\)-invariant and catenary data of a matroid
• Weighted quasisymmetric enumerator for generalized permutohedra
• Symmetric and quasi-symmetric functions associated to polymatroids
• Primitive elements in the matroid-minor Hopf algebra
• A decomposition theory for matroids. V: Testing of matrix total unimodularity
• On the asymptotic proportion of connected matroids
• Semidirect sums of matroids
• The free product of q-matroids

This page was built for publication: A unique factorization theorem for matroids

Report a bug (only for logged in users!)Click here to report a bug for this page (MaRDI item Q2575804)