h-Vectors of matroids and logarithmic concavity

Abstract

Let M be a matroid on E, representable over a field of characteristic zero. We show that h-vectors of the following simplicial complexes are log-concave: 1. The matroid complex of independent subsets of E. 2. The broken circuit complex of $M$ relative to an ordering of E. The first implies a conjecture of Colbourn on the reliability polynomial of a graph, and the second implies a conjecture of Hoggar on the chromatic polynomial of a graph. The proof is based on the geometric formula for the characteristic polynomial of Denham, Garrousian, and Schulze.