The polynomial degree of the Grassmannian G(1,n,q) of lines in finite projective space PG(n, q)

Let G: = G(1,n,q) denote the Grassmannian of lines in PG(n,q), embedded as a point-set in PG(N, q) with For n = 2 or 3 the characteristic function of the complement of G is contained in the linear code generated by characteristic functions of complements of n-flats in PG(N, q). In this paper we prove this to be true for all cases (n, q) with q = 2 and we conjecture this to be true for all remaining cases (n, q). We show that the exact polynomial degree of is for δ: = δ(n, q) = 0 or 1, and that the possibility δ = 1 is ruled out if the above conjecture is true. The result deg( for the binary cases (n,2) can be used to construct quantum codes by intersecting G with subspaces of dimension at least      

Maximal partial spreads in PG (3, q)

We transfer the whole geometry of PG(3, q) over a non-singular quadric Q_4,q of PG(4, q) mapping suitably PG(3, q) over Q_4,q. More precisely the points of PG(3, q) are the lines of Q_4,q; the lines of PG(3, q) are the tangent cones of Q_4,q and the reguli of the hyperbolic quadrics hyperplane section of Q_4,q. A plane of PG(3, q) is the set of lines of Q_4,q meeting a fixed line of Q_4,q. We remark that this representation is valid also for a projective space over any field K and we apply the above representation to construct maximal partial spreads in PG(3, q). For q even we get new cardinalities for For q odd the cardinalities are partially known.     

Some Characterizations of Finite Hermitian Veroneseans

We characterize the finite Veronesean of all Hermitian varieties of PG(n,q²) as the unique representation of PG(n,q²) in PG(d,q), d n(n+2), where points and lines of PG(n,q²) are represented by points and ovoids of solids, respectively, of PG(d,q), with the only condition that the point set of PG(d,q) corresponding to the point set of PG(n,q²) generates PG(d,q). Using this result for n=2, we show that is characterized by the following properties: (1) ; (2) each hyperplane of PG(8,q) meets in q²+1, q³+1 or q³+q²+1 points; (3) each solid of PG(8,q) having at least q+3 points in common with shares exactly q²+1 points with it.51E24     

Generating Random Elements in SL n (F q ) by Random Transvections

This paper studies a random walk based on random transvections in SL _n(F _q ) and shows that, given > 0, there is a constant c such that after n + c steps the walk is within a distance from uniform and that after n – c steps the walk is a distance at least 1 – from uniform. This paper uses results of Diaconis and Shahshahani to get the upper bound, uses results of Rudvalis to get the lower bound, and briefly considers some other random walks on SL _n(F _q ) to compare them with random transvections.     

Partial t-Spreads in PG(2t+1,q)

This article first of all discusses the problem of the cardinality of maximal partial spreads in PG(3,q), q square, q>4. Let r be an integer such that 2rq+1 and such that every blocking set of PG(2,q) with at most q+r points contains a Baer subplane. If S is a maximal partial spread of PG(3,q) with q ²-1-r lines, then r=s( +1) for an integer s2 and the set of points of PG(3,q) not covered byS is the disjoint union of s Baer subgeometriesPG(3, ). We also discuss maximal partial spreads in PG(3,p ³), p=p ₀ ^h , p ₀ prime, p ₀ 5, h 1, p 5. We show that if p is non-square, then the minimal possible deficiency of such a spread is equal to p ²+p+1, and that if such a maximal partial spread exists, then the set of points of PG(3,p ³) not covered by the lines of the spread is a projected subgeometryPG(5,p) in PG(3,p ³). In PG(3,p ³),p square, for maximal partial spreads of deficiency p ²+p+1, the combined results from the preceding two cases occur. In the final section, we discuss t-spreads in PG(2t+1,q), q square or q a non-square cube power. In the former case, we show that for small deficiencies , the set of holes is a disjoint union of subgeometries PG(2t+1, ), which implies that 0 (mod +1) and, when (2t+1)( -1) <q-1, that 2( +1). In the latter case, the set of holes is the disjoint union of projected subgeometries PG(3t+2, ) and this implies 0 (mod q ^2/3+q ^1/3+1). A more general result is also presented.     

On the enumeration of positive cells in generalized cluster complexes and Catalan hyperplane arrangements

Let Φ be an irreducible crystallographic root system with Weyl group W and coroot lattice , spanning a Euclidean space V. Let m be a positive integer and be the arrangement of hyperplanes in V of the form for and . It is known that the number of bounded dominant regions of is equal to the number of facets of the positive part of the generalized cluster complex associated to the pair by S. Fomin and N. Reading. We define a statistic on the set of bounded dominant regions of and conjecture that the corresponding refinement of coincides with the $h$-vector of . We compute these refined numbers for the classical root systems as well as for all root systems when m = 1 and verify the conjecture when Φ has type A, B or C and when m = 1. We give several combinatorial interpretations to these numbers in terms of chains of order ideals in the root poset of Φ, orbits of the action of W on the quotient and coroot lattice points inside a certain simplex, analogous to the ones given by the first author in the case of the set of all dominant regions of . We also provide a dual interpretation in terms of order filters in the root poset of Φ in the special case m = 1. 2000 Mathematics Subject Classification Primary—20F55; Secondary—05E99, 20H15     

On (q 2 + q + 2, q + 2)-arcs in the Projective Plane PG(2, q)

A (k,n)-arc in PG(2,q) is usually defined to be a set of k points in the plane such that some line meets in n points but such that no line meets in more than n points. There is an extensive literature on the topic of (k,n)-arcs. Here we keep the same definition but allow to be a multiset, that is, permit to contain multiple points. The case k=q ²+q+2 is of interest because it is the first value of k for which a (k,n)-arc must be a multiset. The problem of classifying (q ²+q+2,q+2)-arcs is of importance in coding theory, since it is equivalent to classifying 3-dimensional q-ary error-correcting codes of length q ²+q+2 and minimum distance q ². Indeed, it was the coding theory problem which provided the initial motivation for our study. It turns out that such arcs are surprisingly rich in geometric structure. Here we construct several families of (q ²+q+2,q+2)-arcs as well as obtain some bounds and non-existence results. A complete classification of such arcs seems to be a difficult problem.     

New results on the peak algebra

The peak algebra is a unital subalgebra of the symmetric group algebra, linearly spanned by sums of permutations with a common set of peaks. By exploiting the combinatorics of sparse subsets of [n−1] (and of certain classes of compositions of n called almost-odd and thin), we construct three new linear bases of . We discuss two peak analogs of the first Eulerian idempotent and construct a basis of semi-idempotent elements for the peak algebra. We use these bases to describe the Jacobson radical of and to characterize the elements of in terms of the canonical action of the symmetric groups on the tensor algebra of a vector space. We define a chain of ideals of , j = 0,..., , such that is the linear span of sums of permutations with a common set of interior peaks and is the peak algebra. We extend the above results to , generalizing results of Schocker (the case j = 0). Aguiar supported in part by NSF grant DMS-0302423 Orellana supported in part by the Wilson Foundation     

On the graph of a function in two variables over a finite field

We show that if the number of directions not determined by a pointset of , of size q² is at least p^e q then every plane intersects in 0 modulo p^e+1 points and apply the result to ovoids of the generalised quadrangles and .     

Association schemes from the action of PGL(2, q) fixing a nonsingular conic in PG(2, q)

The group PGL(2,q) has an embedding into PGL(3,q) such that it acts as the group fixing a nonsingular conic in PG(2,q). This action affords a coherent configuration (q) on the set (q) of non-tangent lines of the conic. We show that the relations can be described by using the cross-ratio. Our results imply that the restrictions ₊(q) and ₋(q) of (q) to the set ₊(q) of secant (hyperbolic) lines and to the set ₋(q) of exterior (elliptic) lines, respectively, are both association schemes; moreover, we show that the elliptic scheme ₋(q) is pseudocyclic.We further show that the coherent configurations (q ²) with q even allow certain fusions. These provide a 4-class fusion of the hyperbolic scheme ₊(q ²), and 3-class fusions and 2-class fusions (strongly regular graphs) of both schemes ₊(q ²) and ₋(q ²). The fusion results for the hyperbolic case are known, but our approach here as well as our results in the elliptic case are new.     

On an Isomorphism Problem of Some Dual Hyperovals in PG(2d + 1, q) with q even

Let q = 2^l with l≥ 1 and d ≥ 2. We prove that any automorphism of the d-dimensional dual hyperoval over GF(q), constructed in [3] for any (d + 1)-dimensional GF(q)-vector subspace V in GF(qⁿ) with n≥ d + 1 and for any generator σ of the Galois group of GF(qⁿ) over GF(q), always fixes the special member X(∞). Moreover, we prove that, in case V = GF(q^d+1), two dual hyperovals and in PG(2d + 1,q), where σ and τ are generators of the Galois group of GF(q^d+1) over GF(q), are isomorphic if and only if (1) σ = τ or (2) σ τ = id. Therefore, we have proved that, even in the case q > 2, there exist non isomorphic d-dimensional dual hyperovals in PG(2d + 1,q) for d ≥ 3.     

Universal Similarity Factorization Equalities over Generalized Clifford Algebras

For any element a in a generalized 2^n-dimensional Clifford algebra Lln （F） over an arbitrary field F of characteristic not equal to two, it is shown that there exits a universal invertible matrix Pn over Lln（F） such that Pn^-1DnPn= φ（α）∈F^2n×2n, where φ（a） is a matrix representation of α over and Dα is a diagonal matrix consisting of a or its conjugate.     

Gauss Sum of Index 4： （2） Non-cyclic Case

Assume that m ≥ 2, p is a prime number, （m,p（p - 1）） = 1,-1 not belong to 〈p〉 belong to （Z/mZ）^＊ and [（Z/mZ）^＊：〈p〉]=4.In this paper, we calculate the value of Gauss sum G（X）=∑x∈F^＊x（x）ζp^T（x） over Fq,where q=p^f,f=φ（m）/4,x is a multiplicative character of Fq and T is the trace map from Fq to Fp.Under our assumptions,G（x） belongs to the decomposition field K of p in Q（ζm） and K is an imaginary quartic abelian unmber field.When the Galois group Gal（K/Q） is cyclic,we have studied this cyclic case in anotyer paper：＂Gauss sums of index four：（1）cyclic case＂（accepted by Acta Mathematica Sinica,2003）.In this paper we deal with the non-cyclic case.     

Gauss Sum of Index 4： （1） Cyclic Case

Let p be a prime, m ≥ 2, and （m,p（p - 1）） = 1. In this paper, we will calculate explicitly the Gauss sum G（X） = ∑x∈F＊qX（x）ζ^Tp^（x） in the case of [（Z/mZ）＊ ： （p）] = 4, and -1 （不属于） （p）, where q P^f, f =φ（m）/4, X is a multiplicative character of Fq with order m, and T is the trace map for Fq/Fp. Under the assumptions [（Z/mZ）＊ ： （p）] = 4 and 1（不属于） （p）, the decomposition field of p in the cyclotomic field Q（ζm） is an imaginary quartic （abelian） field. And G（X） is an integer in K. We deal with the case where K is cyclic in this oaDer and leave the non-cvclic case to the next paper.     

On the Characters of the Maximal Subgroup <f 1> Sp 4 ( q ) of the Symplectic Group Sp 4(q), q-Even

The aim of this paper is to study the characters of the maximal subgroup of the symplectic group Sp ₄(q)q-even, where is the stabilizer of the one-dimensional space <f ₁> in Sp ₄(q).     

Tight Gaussian 4-Designs

A Gaussian t-design is defined as a finite set X in the Euclidean space ℝⁿ satisfying the condition: for any polynomial f(x) in n variables of degree at most t, here α is a constant real number and ω is a positive weight function on X. It is easy to see that if X is a Gaussian 2e-design in ℝⁿ, then . We call X a tight Gaussian 2e-design in ℝⁿ if holds. In this paper we study tight Gaussian 2e-designs in ℝⁿ. In particular, we classify tight Gaussian 4-designs in ℝⁿ with constant weight or with weight . Moreover we classify tight Gaussian 4-designs in ℝⁿ on 2 concentric spheres (with arbitrary weight functions).     

Blocking Sets of Certain Line Sets Related to a Conic

In this paper we classify point sets of minimum size of two types (1) point sets meeting all secants to an irreducible conic of the desarguesian projective plane PG(2,q), q odd; (2) point sets meeting all external lines and tangents to a given irreducible conic of the desarguesian projective plane PG(2,q), q even.     

A Ring Theoretic Construction of Hadamard Difference Sets in ℤ<Subscript>8</Subscript><Superscript><Emphasis Type="Italic">n</Emphasis></Superscript>×ℤ<Subscript>2</Subscript><Superscript><Emphasis Type="Italic">n</Emphasis></Superscript>

Let be the Galois ring of characteristic 2³ and rank n and let . We give an explicit construction of Hadamard difference sets in .}Research supported by NSA grant MDA 904-02-1-0080.     

The isometries of the cut, metric and hypermetric cones

We show that the symmetry groups of the cut cone Cut_n and the metric cone Met_n both consist of the isometries induced by the permutations on , that is, for n ≥ 5. For n = 4 we have . This result can be extended to cones containing the cuts as extreme rays and for which the triangle inequalities are facet-inducing. For instance, for n ≥ 5, where Hyp_n denotes the hypermetric cone.