From coordinate subspaces over finite fields to ideal multipartite uniform clutters

Abdi, Ahmad ORCID: 0000-0002-3008-4167 and Lee, Dabeen (2024) From coordinate subspaces over finite fields to ideal multipartite uniform clutters. Mathematical Programming. ISSN 0025-5610

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Abstract

Take a prime power q, an integer n 2, and a coordinate subspace S GF(q)n over the Galois field GF(q). One can associate with S an n-partite n-uniform clutter C, where every part has size q and there is a bijection between the vectors in S and the members of C. In this paper, we determine when the clutter C is ideal, a property developed in connection to Packing and Covering problems in the areas of Integer Programming and Combinatorial Optimization. Interestingly, the characterization differs depending on whether q is 2; 4, a higher power of 2, or otherwise. Each characterization uses crucially that idealness is a minor-closed property: first the list of excluded minors is identified, and only then is the global structure determined. A key insight is that idealness of C depends solely on the underlying matroid of S. Our theorems also extend from idealness to the stronger max-flow min-cut property. As a consequence, we prove the Replication and = 2 Conjectures for this class of clutters.

Item Type:	Article
Official URL:	https://link.springer.com/journal/10107
Additional Information:	© 2024 The Author(s)
Divisions:	Mathematics
Subjects:	Q Science > QA Mathematics
Date Deposited:	06 Nov 2024 14:33
Last Modified:	06 Nov 2024 14:42
URI:	http://eprints.lse.ac.uk/id/eprint/125966

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