This is a foundational paper in tropical linear algebra, which is linear algebra over the min-plus semiring. We introduce and compare three natural definitions of the rank of a matrix, called the Barvinok rank, the Kapranov rank and the tropical rank
. We demonstrate how these notions arise naturally in polyhedral and algebraic geometry, and we show that they differ in general. Realizability of matroids plays a crucial role here. Connections to optimization are also discussed.
We construct minimal cellular resolutions of squarefree monomial ideals arising from hyperplane arrangements, matroids and oriented matroids. These are Stanley-Reisner ideals of complexes of independent sets, and of triangulations of Lawrence matroid
polytopes. Our resolution provides a cellular realization of Stanleys formula for their Betti numbers. For unimodular matroids our resolutions are related to hyperplane arrangements on tori, and we recover the resolutions constructed by Bayer, Popescu and Sturmfels. We resolve the combinatorial problems posed in their paper by computing Mobius invariants of graphic and cographic arrangements in terms of Hermite polynomials.
