Some variations on Tverberg’s theorem

Define T(d, r) = (d + 1)(r - 1) + 1. A well known theorem of Tverberg states that if n ≥ T(d, r), then one can partition any set of n points in R^d into r pairwise disjoint subsets whose convex hulls have a common point. The numbers T(d, r) are known as Tverberg numbers. Reay added another parameter k (2 ≤ k ≤ r) and asked: what is the smallest number n, such that every set of n points in R^d admits an r-partition, in such a way that each k of the convex hulls of the r parts meet. Call this number T(d, r, k). Reay conjectured that T(d, r, k) = T(d, r) for all d, r and k. In this paper we prove Reay’s conjecture in the following cases: when k ≥ [d+3/2], and also when d < rk/r-k - 1. The conjecture also holds for the specific values d = 3, r = 4, k = 2 and d = 5, r = 3, k = 2.     

Constructing permutation arrays from groups

Let M(n, d) be the maximum size of a permutation array on n symbols with pairwise Hamming distance at least d. We use various combinatorial, algebraic, and computational methods to improve lower bounds for M(n, d). We compute the Hamming distances of affine semilinear groups and projective semilinear groups, and unions of cosets of AGL(1, q) and PGL(2, q) with Frobenius maps to obtain new, improved lower bounds for M(n, d). We give new randomized algorithms. We give better lower bounds for M(n, d) also using new theorems concerning the contraction operation. For example, we prove a quadratic lower bound for \(M(n,n-2)\) for all \(n\equiv 2 \pmod 3\) such that \(n+1\) is a prime power.     

On Tverberg partitions

A theorem of Tverberg from 1966 asserts that every set X ? ? ^d of n = T(d, r) = (d + 1)(r ? 1) + 1 points can be partitioned into r pairwise disjoint subsets, whose convex hulls have a point in common. Thus every such partition induces an integer partition of n into r parts (that is, r integers a ₁,..., a _r satisfying n = a ₁ + ··· + a _r ), in which the parts a _i correspond to the number of points in every subset. In this paper, we prove that for any partition of n where the parts satisfy a _i ≤ d + 1 for all i = 1,..., r, there exists a set X ? ? of n points, such that every Tverberg partition of X induces the same partition on n, given by the parts a ₁,..., a _r .     

Tverberg's theorem with constraints

The topological Tverberg theorem claims that for any continuous map of the (q−1)(d+1)-simplex σ(d+1)(q−1) to Rd there are q disjoint faces of σ(d+1)(q−1) such that their images have a non-empty intersection. This has been proved for affine maps, and if q is a prime power, but not in general.We extend the topological Tverberg theorem in the following way: Pairs of vertices are forced to end up in different faces. This leads to the concept of constraint graphs. In Tverberg's theorem with constraints, we come up with a list of constraints graphs for the topological Tverberg theorem.The proof is based on connectivity results of chessboard-type complexes. Moreover, Tverberg's theorem with constraints implies new lower bounds for the number of Tverberg partitions. As a consequence, we prove Sierksma's conjecture for d=2 and q=3.     

On the semiproportional character conjecture in groups Sp<Subscript>4</Subscript>(<Emphasis Type="Italic">q</Emphasis>)

Previously, the author made the following conjecture: if a finite group has two semiproportional irreducible characters φ and ψ, then φ(1) = ψ(1). In the present paper, a new confirmation of the conjecture is obtained. Namely, the conjecture is verified for symplectic groups Sp₄(q) and PSp₄(q).     

Allowable Interval Sequences and Separating Convex Sets in the Plane

In 2005, Goodman and Pollack introduced the concept of an allowable interval sequence, a combinatorial object which encodes properties of a family of pairwise disjoint convex sets in the plane. They, Dhandapani, and Holmsen used this concept to address Tverberg’s (1,k)-separation problem: How many pairwise disjoint compact convex sets in the plane are required to guarantee that one can be separated by a line from k others? (Denote this number by f _k .) A new proof was provided that f ₂=5, a result originally obtained by Tverberg himself, and the application of allowable interval sequences to the case of general k was left as an open problem. Hope and Katchalski, using other methods, proved in 1990 that 3k?1≤f _k ≤12(k?1). In this paper, we apply the method of allowable interval sequences to give an upper bound on f _k of under 7.2(k?1), shrinking the range given by Hope and Katchalski by more than half. For a family of translates we obtain a tighter upper bound of approximately 5.8(k?1).     

On Convex Geometric Graphs with no $$$$ Pairwise Disjoint Edges

A well-known result of Kupitz from 1982 asserts that the maximal number of edges in a convex geometric graph (CGG) on n vertices that does not contain \(k+1\) pairwise disjoint edges is kn (provided \(n>2k\)). For \(k=1\) and \(k=n/2-1\), the extremal examples are completely characterized. For all other values of k, the structure of the extremal examples is far from known: their total number is unknown, and only a few classes of examples were presented, that are almost symmetric, consisting roughly of the kn “longest possible” edges of CK(n), the complete CGG of order n. In order to understand further the structure of the extremal examples, we present a class of extremal examples that lie at the other end of the spectrum. Namely, we break the symmetry by requiring that, in addition, the graph admit an independent set that consists of q consecutive vertices on the boundary of the convex hull. We show that such graphs exist as long as \(q \le n-2k\) and that this value of q is optimal. We generalize our discussion to the following question: what is the maximal possible number f(n, k, q) of edges in a CGG on n vertices that does not contain \(k+1\) pairwise disjoint edges, and, in addition, admits an independent set that consists of q consecutive vertices on the boundary of the convex hull? We provide a complete answer to this question, determining f(n, k, q) for all relevant values of n, k and q.     

Improved bounds on the Hadwiger–Debrunner numbers

Let HD _d (p, q) denote the minimal size of a transversal that can always be guaranteed for a family of compact convex sets in Rd which satisfy the (p, q)-property (p ≥ q ≥ d + 1). In a celebrated proof of the Hadwiger–Debrunner conjecture, Alon and Kleitman proved that HD _d (p, q) exists for all p ≥ q ≥ d + 1. Specifically, they prove that \(H{D_d}(p,d + 1)is\tilde O({p^{{d^2} + d}})\).We present several improved bounds: (i) For any \(q \geqslant d + 1,H{D_d}(p,d) = \tilde O({p^{d(\frac{{q - 1}}{{q - d}})}})\). (ii) For q ≥ log p, \(H{D_d}(p,q) = \tilde O(p + {(p/q)^d})\). (iii) For every ? > 0 there exists a p₀ = p₀(?) such that for every p ≥ p₀ and for every \(q \geqslant {p^{\frac{{d - 1}}{d} + \in }}\) we have p ? q + 1 ≤ HD _d (p, q) ≤ p ? q + 2. The latter is the first near tight estimate of HD _d (p, q) for an extended range of values of (p, q) since the 1957 Hadwiger–Debrunner theorem.We also prove a (p, 2)-theorem for families in R² with union complexity below a specific quadratic bound.     

Thompson’s conjecture for the alternating group of degree 2<Emphasis Type="Italic">p</Emphasis> and 2<Emphasis Type="Italic">p</Emphasis>+1

For a finite group G denote by N(G) the set of conjugacy class sizes of G. In 1980s, J.G.Thompson posed the following conjecture: If L is a finite nonabelian simple group, G is a finite group with trivial center and N(G) = N(L), then G ? L. We prove this conjecture for an infinite class of simple groups. Let p be an odd prime. We show that every finite group G with the property Z(G) = 1 and N(G) = N(A _i ) is necessarily isomorphic to A _i , where i ∈ {2p, 2p + 1}.     

ON THE COADJOINT ORBITS OF MAXIMAL UNIPOTENT SUBGROUPS OF REDUCTIVE GROUPS

Let G be a simple algebraic group defined over an algebraically closed field of characteristic 0 or a good prime for G. Let U be a maximal unipotent subgroup of G and \( \mathfrak{u} \) its Lie algebra. We prove the separability of orbit maps and the connectedness of centralizers for the coadjoint action of U on (certain quotients of) the dual \( \mathfrak{u} \)* of \( \mathfrak{u} \). This leads to a method to give a parametrization of the coadjoint orbits in terms of so-called minimal representatives which form a disjoint union of quasi-affine varieties. Moreover, we obtain an algorithm to explicitly calculate this parametrization which has been used for G of rank at most 8, except E₈.When G is defined and split over the field of q elements, for q the power of a good prime for G, this algorithmic parametrization is used to calculate the number k(U(q); \( \mathfrak{u} \)*(q)) of coadjoint orbits of U(q) on \( \mathfrak{u} \)*(q). Since k(U(q), \( \mathfrak{u} \)*(q)) coincides with the number k(U(q)) of conjugacy classes in U(q), these calculations can be viewed as an extension of the results obtained in [11]. In each case considered here there is a polynomial h(t) with integer coefficients such that for every such q we have k(U(q)) = h(q). We also explain implications of our results for a parametrization of the irreducible complex characters of U(q).     

Intersecting Convex Sets by Rays

What is the smallest number τ=τ(n) such that for any collection of n pairwise disjoint convex sets in d-dimensional Euclidean space, there is a point such that any ray (half-line) emanating from it meets at most τ sets of the collection? This question of Urrutia is closely related to the notion of regression depth introduced by Rousseeuw and Hubert (1996). We show the following:Given any collection \({\mathcal{C}}\) of n pairwise disjoint compact convex sets in d-dimensional Euclidean space, there exists a point p such that any ray emanating from p meets at most \(\frac{dn+1}{d+1}\) members of \({\mathcal{C}}\).There exist collections of n pairwise disjoint (i) equal-length segments or (ii) disks in the Euclidean plane such that from any point there is a ray that meets at least \(\frac{2n}{3}-2\) of them.We also determine the asymptotic behavior of τ(n) when the convex bodies are fat and of roughly equal size.     

Schur positivity and the <Emphasis Type="Italic">q</Emphasis>-log-convexity of the Narayana polynomials

We prove two recent conjectures of Liu and Wang by establishing the strong q-log-convexity of the Narayana polynomials, and showing that the Narayana transformation preserves log-convexity. We begin with a formula of Brändén expressing the q-Narayana numbers as a specialization of Schur functions and, by deriving several symmetric function identities, we obtain the necessary Schur-positivity results. In addition, we prove the strong q-log-concavity of the q-Narayana numbers. The q-log-concavity of the q-Narayana numbers N _q (n,k) for fixed k is a special case of a conjecture of McNamara and Sagan on the infinite q-log-concavity of the Gaussian coefficients.     

Properties of element orders in covers for L<Subscript>n</Subscript>(<Emphasis Type="Italic">q</Emphasis>) and U<Subscript>n</Subscript>(<Emphasis Type="Italic">q</Emphasis>)

We show that if a finite simple group G, isomorphic to PSL_n(q) or PSU_n(q) where either n ≠ 4 or q is prime or even, acts on a vector space over a field of the defining characteristic of G; then the corresponding semidirect product contains an element whose order is distinct from every element order of G. We infer that the group PSL_n(q), n ≠ 4 or q prime or even, is recognizable by spectrum from its covers thus giving a partial positive answer to Problem 14.60 from the Kourovka Notebook.     

Characterization of the alternating groups by their order and one conjugacy class length

Let G be a finite group, and let N(G) be the set of conjugacy class sizes of G. By Thompson’s conjecture, if L is a finite non-abelian simple group, G is a finite group with a trivial center, and N(G) = N(L), then L and G are isomorphic. Recently, Chen et al. contributed interestingly to Thompson’s conjecture under a weak condition. They only used the group order and one or two special conjugacy class sizes of simple groups and characterized successfully sporadic simple groups (see Li’s PhD dissertation). In this article, we investigate validity of Thompson’s conjecture under a weak condition for the alternating groups of degrees p+1 and p+2, where p is a prime number. This work implies that Thompson’s conjecture holds for the alternating groups of degree p + 1 and p + 2.     

A note on Gekeler’s h-function

For a subgroup L of the symmetric group \({S_{\ell}}\), we determine the minimal base size of \({GL_d(q) \wr L}\) acting on \({V_d(q)^{\ell}}\) as an imprimitive linear group. This is achieved by computing the number of orbits of GL_d(q) on spanning m-tuples, which turns out to be the number of d-dimensional subspaces of V_m(q). We then use these results to prove that for certain families of subgroups L, the affine groups whose stabilisers are large subgroups of \({GL_{d}(q) \wr L}\) satisfy a conjecture of Pyber concerning bases.     

The characterization problem for designs with the parameters of AG<Subscript>d</Subscript>(<Emphasis Type="Italic">n</Emphasis>, <Emphasis Type="Italic">q</Emphasis>)

We start a new characterization of the geometric 2-design AG _d (n,q) among all simple 2-designs with the same parameters by handling the cases d ∈ {1,2,3,n — 2}. For d ≠ 1, our characterization is in terms of line sizes, and for d = 1 in terms of the number of affine hyperplanes. We also show that the number of non-isomorphic resolvable designs with the parameters of AG₁(n,q) grows exponentially with linear growth of n.     

Recognition of some families of finite simple groups by order and set of orders of vanishing elements

Let G be a finite group. An element g ∈ G is called a vanishing element if there exists an irreducible complex character χ of G such that χ(g)= 0. Denote by Vo(G) the set of orders of vanishing elements of G. Ghasemabadi, Iranmanesh, Mavadatpour (2015), in their paper presented the following conjecture: Let G be a finite group and M a finite nonabelian simple group such that Vo(G) = Vo(M) and |G| = |M|. Then G ≌ M. We answer in affirmative this conjecture for M = Sz(q), where q = 2²ⁿ⁺¹ and either q ? 1, \(q - \sqrt {2q} + 1\) or q + \(\sqrt {2q} + 1\) is a prime number, and M = F⁴(q), where q = 2 ⁿ and either q⁴ + 1 or q⁴ ? q² + 1 is a prime number.     

Blow-up of <Emphasis Type="Italic">p</Emphasis>-Laplacian evolution equations with variable source power

We study the blow-up and/or global existence of the following p-Laplacian evolution equation with variable source power

$${s_j} = {\beta _j} + \overline {{\beta _{n - j}}}p$$

where Ω is either a bounded domain or the whole space ? ^N , q(x) is a positive and continuous function defined in Ω with 0 < q _? = inf q(x) ? q(x) ? sup q(x) = q+ < ∞. It is demonstrated that the equation with variable source power has much richer dynamics with interesting phenomena which depends on the interplay of q(x) and the structure of spatial domain Ω, compared with the case of constant source power. For the case that Ω is a bounded domain, the exponent p ? 1 plays a crucial role. If q+ > p ? 1, there exist blow-up solutions, while if q ₊ < p ? 1, all the solutions are global. If q _? > p ? 1, there exist global solutions, while for given q _? < p ? 1 < q ₊, there exist some function q(x) and Ω such that all nontrivial solutions will blow up, which is called the Fujita phenomenon. For the case Ω = ? ^N , the Fujita phenomenon occurs if 1 < q _? ? q ₊ ? p ? 1 + p/N, while if q _? > p ? 1 + p/N, there exist global solutions.

     

A Note on MDS Codes, <Emphasis Type="Italic">n</Emphasis>-Arcs and Complete Designs

A generalized incidence matrix of a design over GF(q) is any matrix obtained from the (0, 1)-incidence matrix by replacing ones with nonzero elements from GF(q). The dimension d _q of a design D over GF(q) is defined as the minimum value of the q-rank of a generalized incidence matrix of D. It is proved that the dimension d _q of the complete design on n points having as blocks all w-subsets, is greater that or equal to n ? w + 1, and the equality d _q = n ? w + 1 holds if and only if there exists an [n, n ? w + 1, w] MDS code over GF(q), or equivalently, an n-arc in PG(w ? 2, q).     

Abelian Cayley Graphs of Given Degree and Diameter 2 and 3

Let CC _d,k be the largest possible number of vertices in a cyclic Cayley graph of degree d and diameter k, and let AC _d,k be the largest order in an Abelian Cayley graph for given d and k. We show that \({CC_{d,2} \geq \frac{13}{36} (d + 2)(d -4)}\) for any d= 6p?2 where p is a prime such that \({p \neq 13}\) , \({p \not\equiv 1}\) (mod 13), and \({AC_{d,3} \geq \frac{9}{128} (d + 3)^2(d - 5)}\) for d = 8q?3 where q is a prime power.