The structure of 2-separations of infinite matroids

Generalizing a well known theorem for finite matroids, we prove that for every (infinite) connected matroid M there is a unique tree T such that the nodes of T correspond to minors of M that are either 3-connected or circuits or cocircuits, and the edges of T correspond to certain nested 2-separations of M. These decompositions are invariant under duality.Comment: 31 page

The structure of 4-separations in 4-connected matroids

Oxley, Semple and Whittle described a tree decomposition for a 3-connected matroid M that displays, up to a natural equivalence, all non-trivial 3-separations of M. Crossing 3-separations gave rise to fundamental structures known as flowers. In this dissertation, we define generalized flower structure called a k-flower, with no assumptions on the connectivity of M. We completely classify k-flowers in terms of the local connectivity between pairs of petals. Specializing to the case of 4-connected matroids, we give a new notion of equivalence of 4-separations that we show will be needed to describe a tree decomposition for 4-connected matroids. Finally, we characterize all internally 4-connected binary matroids M with the property that the ground set of M can be cyclically ordered so that any consecutive collection of elements in this cyclic ordering is 4-separating. We prove that in this case either M is a matroid on at most seven elements or, up to duality, M is isomorphic to the polygon matroid of a cubic or quartic planar ladder, the polygon matroid of a cubic or quartic Möbius ladder, a particular single-element extension of a wheel, or a particular single-element extension of the bond matroid of a cubic ladder

Tangle-tree duality: in graphs, matroids and beyond

We apply a recent duality theorem for tangles in abstract separation systems to derive tangle-type duality theorems for width-parameters in graphs and matroids. We further derive a duality theorem for the existence of clusters in large data sets. Our applications to graphs include new, tangle-type, duality theorems for tree-width, path-width, and tree-decompositions of small adhesion. Conversely, we show that carving width is dual to edge-tangles. For matroids we obtain a duality theorem for tree-width. Our results can be used to derive short proofs of all the classical duality theorems for width parameters in graph minor theory, such as path-width, tree-width, branch-width and rank-width.Comment: arXiv admin note: text overlap with arXiv:1406.379

Unifying duality theorems for width parameters in graphs and matroids. II. General duality

We prove a general duality theorem for tangle-like dense objects in combinatorial structures such as graphs and matroids. This paper continues, and assumes familiarity with, the theory developed in [6]Comment: 19 page

Tangle-tree duality in abstract separation systems

We prove a general width duality theorem for combinatorial structures with well-defined notions of cohesion and separation. These might be graphs and matroids, but can be much more general or quite different. The theorem asserts a duality between the existence of high cohesiveness somewhere local and a global overall tree structure. We describe cohesive substructures in a unified way in the format of tangles: as orientations of low-order separations satisfying certain consistency axioms. These axioms can be expressed without reference to the underlying structure, such as a graph or matroid, but just in terms of the poset of the separations themselves. This makes it possible to identify tangles, and apply our tangle-tree duality theorem, in very diverse settings. Our result implies all the classical duality theorems for width parameters in graph minor theory, such as path-width, tree-width, branch-width or rank-width. It yields new, tangle-type, duality theorems for tree-width and path-width. It implies the existence of width parameters dual to cohesive substructures such as $k$-blocks, edge-tangles, or given subsets of tangles, for which no width duality theorems were previously known. Abstract separation systems can be found also in structures quite unlike graphs and matroids. For example, our theorem can be applied to image analysis by capturing the regions of an image as tangles of separations defined as natural partitions of its set of pixels. It can be applied in big data contexts by capturing clusters as tangles. It can be applied in the social sciences, e.g. by capturing as tangles the few typical mindsets of individuals found by a survey. It could also be applied in pure mathematics, e.g. to separations of compact manifolds.Comment: We have expanded Section 2 on terminology for better readability, adding explanatory text, examples, and figures. This paper replaces the first half of our earlier paper arXiv:1406.379