Construction of the Lindström valuation of an algebraic extension

Dustin Cartwright

Published 2017-04-27Version 1

Recently, Bollen, Draisma, and Pendavingh have introduced the Lindstr\"om valuation on the algebraic matroid of a field extension of characteristic p. Their construction passes through what they call a matroid flock and builds on some of the associated theory of matroid flocks which they develop. In this paper, we give a direct construction of the Lindstr\"om valuated matroid using the theory of inseparable field extensions. In particular, we give a description of both its valuation and its valuated circuits.