Optimal difference systems of sets and difference sets

Difference systems of sets (DSSs) are combinatorial structures that are generalizations of cyclic difference sets and arise in connection with code synchronization. In this paper, we give a recursive construction of DSSs with smaller redundancy from partition-type DSSs and difference sets. As applications, we obtain some new infinite classes of optimal DSSs from the known difference sets and almost difference sets.     

Difference systems of sets based on cosets partitions

Difference systems of sets （DSS） are combinatorial configurations that arise in connection with code synchronization. This paper proposes a new method to construct DSSs, which uses known DSSs to partition some of the cosets of Zv relative to subgroup of order k, where v = km is a composite number. As applications, we obtain some new optimal DSSs.     

Linking systems of difference sets

A linking system of difference sets is a collection of mutually related group difference sets, whose advantageous properties have been used to extend classical constructions of systems of linked symmetric designs. The central problems are to determine which groups contain a linking system of difference sets, and how large such a system can be. All previous constructive results for linking systems of difference sets are restricted to 2‐groups. We use an elementary projection argument to show that neither the McFarland/Dillon nor the Spence construction of difference sets can give rise to a linking system of difference sets in non‐2‐groups. We make a connection to Kerdock and bent sets, which provides large linking systems of difference sets in elementary abelian 2‐groups. We give a new construction for linking systems of difference sets in 2‐groups, taking advantage of a previously unrecognized connection with group difference matrices. This construction simplifies and extends prior results, producing larger linking systems than before in certain 2‐groups, new linking systems in other 2‐groups for which no system was previously known, and the first known examples in nonabelian groups.     

Computational Results for Regular Difference Systems of Sets Attaining or Being Close to the Levenshtein Bound

Difference systems of sets (DSSs) are combinatorial structures arising in connection with code synchronization that were introduced by Levenshtein in 1971, and are a generalization of cyclic difference sets. In this paper, we consider a collection of m‐subsets in a finite field of prime order to be a regular DSS for an integer m, and give a lower bound on the parameter ρ of the DSS using cyclotomic numbers. We show that when we choose ‐subsets from the multiplicative group of order e, the lower bound on ρ is independent of the choice of subsets. In addition, we present some computational results for DSSs with block sizes and , whose parameter ρ attains or comes close to the Levenshtein bound for .     

External Difference Families from Finite Fields

External difference families (EDFs) are a type of combinatorial designs that originated from cryptography. Many combinatorial objects are closely related to EDFs, such as difference sets, difference families, almost difference sets, and difference systems of sets. Constructing EDFs is thus of significance in theory and practice. In this paper, earlier ideas of constructing EDFs proposed by Chang and Ding (2006), and Huang and Wu (2009), are further explored. Consequently, new infinite classes of EDFs are obtained and some previously known results are extended.     

Indivisible plexes in latin squares

In this paper, we present two constructions of divisible difference sets based on skew Hadamard difference sets. A special class of Hadamard difference sets, which can be derived from a skew Hadamard difference set and a Paley type regular partial difference set respectively in two groups of orders v ₁ and v ₂ with |v ₁ − v ₂| = 2, is contained in these constructions. Some result on inequivalence of skew Hadamard difference sets is also given in the paper. As a consequence of Delsarte’s theorem, the dual set of skew Hadamard difference set is also a skew Hadamard difference set in an abelian group. We show that there are seven pairwisely inequivalent skew Hadamard difference sets in the elementary abelian group of order 3⁵ or 3⁷, and also at least four pairwisely inequivalent skew Hadamard difference sets in the elementary abelian group of order 3⁹. Furthermore, the skew Hadamard difference sets deduced by Ree-Tits slice symplectic spreads are the dual sets of each other when q ≤ 3¹¹.      

Toward the classification of biangular harmonic frames

Equiangular tight frames (ETFs) and biangular tight frames (BTFs) – sets of unit vectors with basis-like properties whose pairwise absolute inner products admit exactly one or two values, respectively – are useful for many applications. A well-understood class of ETFs are those which manifest as harmonic frames – vector sets defined in terms of the characters of finite abelian groups – because they are characterized by combinatorial objects called difference sets.This work is dedicated to the study of the underlying combinatorial structures of harmonic BTFs. We show that if a harmonic frame is generated by a divisible difference set, a partial difference set or by a special structure with certain Gauss summing properties – all three of which are generalizations of difference sets that fall under the umbrella term “bidifference set” – then it is either a BTF or an ETF. However, we also show that the relationship between harmonic BTFs and bidifference sets is not as straightforward as the correspondence between harmonic ETFs and difference sets, as there are examples of bidifference sets that do not generate harmonic BTFs. In addition, we study another class of combinatorial structures, the nested divisible difference sets, which yields an example of a harmonic BTF that is not generated by a bidifference set.     

A family of skew Hadamard difference sets

In 1933 a family of skew Hadamard difference sets was described by Paley using matrix language and was called the Paley-Hadamard difference sets in the literature. During the last 70 years, no new skew Hadamard difference sets were found. It was conjectured that there are no further examples of skew Hadamard difference sets. This conjecture was proved to be true for the cyclic case in 1954, and further progress in favor of this conjecture was made in the past 50 years. However, the conjecture remains open until today. In this paper, we present a family of new perfect nonlinear (also called planar) functions, and construct a family of skew Hadamard difference sets using these perfect nonlinear functions. We show that some of the skew Hadamard difference sets presented in this paper are inequivalent to the Paley-Hadamard difference sets. These new examples of skew Hadamard difference sets discovered 70 years after the Paley construction disprove the longstanding conjecture on skew Hadamard difference sets. The class of new perfect nonlinear functions has applications in cryptography, coding theory, and combinatorics.     

Optimal and perfect difference systems of sets

Difference systems of sets (DSS) were introduced in 1971 by Levenstein for the construction of codes for synchronization, and are closely related to cyclic difference families. In this paper, algebraic constructions of difference systems of sets using functions with optimum nonlinearity are presented. All the difference systems of sets constructed in this paper are perfect and optimal. One conjecture on difference systems of sets is also presented.     

Codebooks from almost difference sets

In direct spread CDMA systems, codebooks meeting the Welch bounds are used to distinguish among the signals of different users. Recently, constructions of codebooks with difference sets meeting Welch’s bound on the maximum cross-correlation amplitude were developed. In this paper, a generic construction of codebooks using almost difference sets is considered and several classes of codebooks nearly meeting the Welch bound are obtained. The parameters of the codebooks constructed in this paper are new.      

Unified Treatment of Algebraic and Geometric Difference by a New Difference Scheme and its Continuity Properties

We introduce a new operation for the difference of two sets A and C of R ⁿ depending on a parameter . This new operation may yield as special cases the classical difference and the Minkowski difference, if the sets A and C are closed, convex sets, if int(C) is nonempty, and if A or C bounded. Continuity properties with respect to both the operands and the parameter of this operation are studied. Lipschitz properties of the Minkowski difference between two sets of a normed vector space are proved in the bounded case as well as in the unbounded case without condition on the dimension of the space.     

States on systems of sets that are closed under symmetric difference

We consider extensions of certain states. The states are defined on the systems of sets that are closed under the formation of the symmetric difference (concrete quantum logics). These systems can be viewed as certain set‐representable quantum logics enriched with the symmetric difference. We first show how the compactness argument allows us to extend states on Boolean algebras over such systems of sets. We then observe that the extensions are sometimes possible even for non‐Boolean situations. On the other hand, a difference‐closed system can be constructed such that even two‐valued states do not allow for extensions. Finally, we consider these questions in a σ‐complete setup and find a large class of such systems with rather interesting state properties.     

广义差集与几乎完美序列

提出了广义差集的概念,并且给出了广义差集的一些初等性质.从应用的角度讲,广义差集就是使得其±1特征序列的自相关函数是(最多)三值的一种组合结构.因此,广义差集不仅仅是在概念(理论)上的推广,它还具有深层次的应用背景.事实上,给出了一些广义差集,它不是可分差集,也不是相对差集.同时也给出了一类广义差集存在的一些必要条件,使得这些广义差集对应的±1特征序列成为几乎完美序列.并举例说明本文中的方法是有效的.     

集合的对称差及其测度

集合的对称差是集合的基本运算之一,它在测度论及其应用中扮演着一个重要的角度,本文深入地对集合的对称差进行讨论,研究了它的性质,通过集合的不交分解揭示了若干个集合的对称差的本质,给出了关于集合的对称差的测度计算公式。     

A New Family of Cyclic Difference Sets with Singer Parameters in Characteristic Three

We construct a new family of cyclic difference sets with parameters ((3 ^d – 1)/2, (3 ^{d – 1} – 1)/2, (3 ^{d – 2} – 1)/2) for each odd d. The difference sets are constructed with certain maps that form Jacobi sums. These new difference sets are similar to Maschietti's hyperoval difference sets, of the Segre type, in characteristic two. We conclude by calculating the 3-ranks of the new difference sets.     

New results on nonexistence of perfect p-ary sequences and almost p-ary sequences

Complex periodical sequences with lower autocorrelation values are used in CDMA communication systems and cryptography. In this paper we present new nonexistence results on perfect p-ary sequences and almost p-ary sequences and related difference sets by using some knowledge on cyclotomic fields and their subfields.     

Cyclic Relative Difference Sets and their p-Ranks

By modifying the constructions in Helleseth et al. [10] and No [15], we construct a family of cyclic ((q ^3k –1)/(q–1), q–1, q ^3k–1, q ^3k–2) relative difference sets, where q=3 ^e . These relative difference sets are liftings of the difference sets constructed in Helleseth et al. [10] and No [15]. In order to demonstrate that these relative difference sets are in general new, we compute p-ranks of the classical relative difference sets and 3-ranks of the newly constructed relative difference sets when q=3. By rank comparison, we show that the newly constructed relative difference sets are never equivalent to the classical relative difference sets, and are in general inequivalent to the affine GMW difference sets.     

New Constructions of Disjoint Distinct Difference Sets

New constructions of regular disjoint distinct difference sets (DDDS) are presented. In particular, multiplicative and additive DDDS are considered.     

Artificial intelligence for decision support systems in the field of operations research: review and future scope of research

Operations research (OR) has been at the core of decision making since World War II, and today, business interactions on different platforms have changed business dynamics, introducing a high degree of uncertainty. To have a sustainable vision of their business, firms need to have a suitable decision-making process at each stage, including minute details. Our study reviews and investigates the existing research in the field of decision support systems (DSSs) and how artificial intelligence (AI) capabilities have been integrated into OR. The findings of our review show how AI has contributed to decision making in the operations research field. This review presents synergies, differences, and overlaps in AI, DSSs, and OR. Furthermore, a clarification of the literature based on the approaches adopted to develop the DSS is presented along with the underlying theories. The classification has been primarily divided into two categories, i.e. theory building and application-based approaches, along with taxonomies based on the AI, DSS, and OR areas. In this review, past studies were calibrated according to prognostic capability, exploitation of large data sets, number of factors considered, development of learning capability, and validation in the decision-making framework. This paper presents gaps and future research opportunities concerning prediction and learning, decision making and optimization in view of intelligent decision making in today’s era of uncertainty. The theoretical and managerial implications are set forth in the discussion section justifying the research questions.

     

Exponential number of inequivalent difference sets in ℤ

Kantor [ 5 ] proved an exponential lower bound on the number of pairwise inequivalent difference sets in the elementary abelian group of order 2^2s+2. Dillon [ 3 ] generalized a technique of McFarland [ 6 ] to provide a framework for determining the number of inequivalent difference sets in 2‐groups with a large elementary abelian direct factor. In this paper, we consider the opposite end of the spectrum, the rank 2 group ? , and compute an exponential lower bound on the number of pairwise inequivalent difference sets in this group. In the process, we demonstrate that Dillon difference sets in groups ? can be constructed via the recursive construction from [ 2 ] and we show that there are exponentially many pairwise inequivalent difference sets that are inequivalent to any Dillon difference set. © 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Combin Designs 11: 249–259, 2003; Published online in Wiley InterScience ( www.interscience.wiley.com ). DOI 10.1002/jcd.10046