MatroidIn combinatorics, a branch of mathematics, a matroid ˈmeɪtrɔɪd is a structure that abstracts and generalizes the notion of linear independence in vector spaces. There are many equivalent ways to define a matroid axiomatically, the most significant being in terms of: independent sets; bases or circuits; rank functions; closure operators; and closed sets or flats. In the language of partially ordered sets, a finite simple matroid is equivalent to a geometric lattice.
Closure (mathematics)In mathematics, a subset of a given set is closed under an operation of the larger set if performing that operation on members of the subset always produces a member of that subset. For example, the natural numbers are closed under addition, but not under subtraction: 1 − 2 is not a natural number, although both 1 and 2 are. Similarly, a subset is said to be closed under a collection of operations if it is closed under each of the operations individually. The closure of a subset is the result of a closure operator applied to the subset.
Interval (mathematics)In mathematics, a (real) interval is a set of real numbers that contains all real numbers lying between any two numbers of the set. For example, the set of numbers x satisfying 0 ≤ x ≤ 1 is an interval which contains 0, 1, and all numbers in between. Other examples of intervals are the set of numbers such that 0 < x < 1, the set of all real numbers , the set of nonnegative real numbers, the set of positive real numbers, the empty set, and any singleton (set of one element).
Radon's theoremIn geometry, Radon's theorem on convex sets, published by Johann Radon in 1921, states that:Any set of d + 2 points in Rd can be partitioned into two sets whose convex hulls intersect. A point in the intersection of these convex hulls is called a Radon point of the set.For example, in the case d = 2, any set of four points in the Euclidean plane can be partitioned in one of two ways. It may form a triple and a singleton, where the convex hull of the triple (a triangle) contains the singleton; alternatively, it may form two pairs of points that form the endpoints of two intersecting line segments.
Polyhedral combinatoricsPolyhedral combinatorics is a branch of mathematics, within combinatorics and discrete geometry, that studies the problems of counting and describing the faces of convex polyhedra and higher-dimensional convex polytopes. Research in polyhedral combinatorics falls into two distinct areas. Mathematicians in this area study the combinatorics of polytopes; for instance, they seek inequalities that describe the relations between the numbers of vertices, edges, and faces of higher dimensions in arbitrary polytopes or in certain important subclasses of polytopes, and study other combinatorial properties of polytopes such as their connectivity and diameter (number of steps needed to reach any vertex from any other vertex).
Duality (optimization)In mathematical optimization theory, duality or the duality principle is the principle that optimization problems may be viewed from either of two perspectives, the primal problem or the dual problem. If the primal is a minimization problem then the dual is a maximization problem (and vice versa). Any feasible solution to the primal (minimization) problem is at least as large as any feasible solution to the dual (maximization) problem.
Affine hullIn mathematics, the affine hull or affine span of a set S in Euclidean space Rn is the smallest affine set containing S, or equivalently, the intersection of all affine sets containing S. Here, an affine set may be defined as the translation of a vector subspace. The affine hull aff(S) of S is the set of all affine combinations of elements of S, that is, The affine hull of the empty set is the empty set. The affine hull of a singleton (a set made of one single element) is the singleton itself.
Extreme pointIn mathematics, an extreme point of a convex set in a real or complex vector space is a point in which does not lie in any open line segment joining two points of In linear programming problems, an extreme point is also called vertex or corner point of Throughout, it is assumed that is a real or complex vector space.
Monotonic functionIn mathematics, a monotonic function (or monotone function) is a function between ordered sets that preserves or reverses the given order. This concept first arose in calculus, and was later generalized to the more abstract setting of order theory. In calculus, a function defined on a subset of the real numbers with real values is called monotonic if and only if it is either entirely non-increasing, or entirely non-decreasing. That is, as per Fig. 1, a function that increases monotonically does not exclusively have to increase, it simply must not decrease.
Duality (mathematics)In mathematics, a duality translates concepts, theorems or mathematical structures into other concepts, theorems or structures, in a one-to-one fashion, often (but not always) by means of an involution operation: if the dual of A is B, then the dual of B is A. Such involutions sometimes have fixed points, so that the dual of A is A itself. For example, Desargues' theorem is self-dual in this sense under the standard duality in projective geometry. In mathematical contexts, duality has numerous meanings.
Barycentric coordinate systemIn geometry, a barycentric coordinate system is a coordinate system in which the location of a point is specified by reference to a simplex (a triangle for points in a plane, a tetrahedron for points in three-dimensional space, etc.). The barycentric coordinates of a point can be interpreted as masses placed at the vertices of the simplex, such that the point is the center of mass (or barycenter) of these masses. These masses can be zero or negative; they are all positive if and only if the point is inside the simplex.
