Characteristic, C-characteristic and positive cones in hyperfields

We study the notions of the positive cone, characteristic and C-characteristic in (Krasner) hyperfields. We demonstrate how these interact in order to produce interesting results in the theory of hyperfields. For instance, we provide a criterion for deciding whether certain hyperfields cannot be obtained via Krasner’s quotient construction. We prove that any positive integer (larger than 1) can be realized as the characteristic of some infinite hyperfield and an analogous result for the C-characteristic. Finally, we study the (directed) graph associated with the strict partial order induced by a positive cone in a hyperfield in various examples.