Exploring the Varchenko Determinant of Partial Cubes

Abstract

The Varchenko matrix is known to have a well-structured determinant for complexes of oriented matroids (COMs). COMs can be characterized as partial cubes that do not have certain forbidden pc-minors. In this work, we generalize the Varchenko matrix and its determinant to partial cubes. We identify examples of partial cubes whose Varchenko determinants lack a clean factorization, as well as those that exhibit such a structure. These findings open the door for further research into the properties and potential characterizations of partial cubes with well-behaved Varchenko determinants.