Even delta-matroids generalize matroids, as they are defined by a certain basis exchange axiom weaker than that of matroids. One natural example of even delta-matroids comes from a skew-symmetric matrix over a given field $K$, and we say such an even delta-matroid is representable over the field $K$. Interestingly, a matroid is representable over $K$ in the usual manner if and only if it is representable over $K$ in the sense of even delta-matroids. The representability of matroids got much interest and was extensively studied such as excluded minors and representability over more than one field. Recently, Baker and Bowler (2019) integrated the notions of $K$-representable matroids, oriented matroids, and valuated matroids using tracts that are commutative ring-like structures in which the sum of two elements may output no element or two or more elements.
We generalize Baker-Bowler's theory of matroids with coefficients in tracts to orthogonal matroids that are equivalent to even delta-matroids. We define orthogonal matroids with coefficients in tracts in terms of Wick functions, orthogonal signatures, circuit sets, and orthogonal vector sets, and establish basic properties on functoriality, duality, and minors. Our cryptomorphic definitions of orthogonal matroids over tracts provide proofs of several representation theorems for orthogonal matroids. In particular, we give a new proof that an orthogonal matroid is regular (i.e., representable over all fields) if and only if it is representable over $\mathbb{F}_2$ and $\mathbb{F}_3$, which was originally shown by Geelen (1996), and we prove that an orthogonal matroid is representable over the sixth-root-of-unity partial field if and only if it is representable over $\mathbb{F}_3$ and $\mathbb{F}_4$.
This is joint work with Tong Jin.
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