Super‐simple resolvable balanced incomplete block designs with block size 4 and index 2

The necessary conditions for the existence of a super‐simple resolvable balanced incomplete block design on v points with block size k = 4 and index λ = 2, are that v ≥ 16 and . These conditions are shown to be sufficient. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Combin Designs 15: 341–356, 2007     

Resolvable BIBDs with block size 8 and index 7

The necessary conditions for the existence of a resolvable BIBD RB(k,λ; v) are λ(v ? 1) = 0(mod k ? 1) and v = 0(mod k). In this article, it is proved that these conditions are also sufficient for k = 8 and λ = 7, with at most 36 possible exceptions. © 1994 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Incomplete perfect mendelsohn designs with block size 4 and holes of size 2 and 3

Let v, k, and n be positive integers. An incomplete perfect Mendelsohn design, denoted by k-IPMD(v, n), is a triple (X, Y, ??) where X is a v-set (of points), Y is an n-subset of X, and ?? is a collection of cyclically ordered k-subsets of X (called blocks) such that every ordered pair (a, b) ∈ (X × X)\(Y × Y) appears t-apart in exactly one block of ?? and no ordered pair (a,b) ∈ Y × Y appears in any block of ?? for any t, where 1 ≤ t ≤ k ? 1. In this article, the necessary conditions for the existence of a 4-IPMD(v, n), namely (v ? n) (v ? 3n ? 1) ≡ 0 (mod 4) and v ≥ 3n + 1, are shown to be sufficient for the case n = 3. For the case n = 2, these conditions are sufficient except for v = 7 and with the possible exception of v = 14,15,18,19,22,23,26,27,30. The latter result provides a useful application to the problem relating to the packing of perfect Mendelsohn designs with block size 4. © 1994 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

On the existence of super-simple designs with block size 4

Summary We prove that forv = 1 and for allv 1 (mod 3),v 10, there is a (v, 4, 4) design with the property that no triple appears in more than one block. The proof of this result is made more difficult by the non-existence of a GDD (4, 4, 3; 15) with no triple appearing in more than one block. We also show that forv = 1 and for allv 1, 4 (mod 12),v 13, there is a (v, 4, 2) design with this property, and with the additional property that the design is the union of two (v, 4, 1) designs.     

Resolvable Mendelsohn designs with block size 4

Summary Letv andK be positive integers. A (v, k, 1)-Mendelsohn design (briefly (v, k, 1)-MD) is a pair (X,B) whereX is av-set (ofpoints) andB is a collection of cyclically orderedk-subsets ofX (calledblocks) such that every ordered pair of points ofX are consecutive in exactly one block ofB. A necessary condition for the existence of a (v, k, 1)-MD isv(v–1) 0 (modk). If the blocks of a (v, k, 1)-MD can be partitioned into parallel classes each containingv/k blocks wherev ) (modk) or (v – 1)/k blocks wherev 1 (modk), then the design is calledresolvable and denoted briefly by (v, k, 1)-RMD. It is known that a (v, 3,1)-RMD exists if and only ifv 0 or 1 (mod 3) andv 6. In this paper, it is shown that the necessary condition for the existence of a (v, 4, 1)-RMD, namelyv 0 or 1 (mod 4), is also sufficient, except forv = 4 and possibly exceptingv = 12. These constructions are equivalent to a resolvable decomposition of the complete symmetric directed graphK _v ^* onv vertices into 4-circuits.Research supported by the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada under Grant A-5320.     

Self-converse Mendelsohn designs with block size 4t + 2

A Mendelsohn design MD(v, k, λ) is a pair (X, B) where X is a v-set together with a collection B of cyclic k-tuples from X such that each ordered pair from X, as adjacent entries, is contained in exactly λk-tuples of B. An MD(v, k, λ) is said to be self-converse, denoted by SCMD(v, k, λ) = (X, B, f), if there is an isomorphic mapping from (X, B) to (X, B⁻¹), where B⁻¹ = {B⁻¹ = 〈x_k, x_k−1, … x₂, x₁〉; B = 〈x₁, … ,x_k〉 ∈ B.}. The existence of SCMD(v, 3, λ) and SCMD(v, 4, 1) has been settled by us. In this article, we will investigate the existence of SCMD(v, 4t + 2, 1). In particular, when 2t + 1 is a prime power, the existence of SCMD(v, 4t + 2, 1) has been completely solved, which extends the existence results for MD(v, k, 1) as well. © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J. Combin Designs 7: 283–310, 1999     

Existence of GBRDs with block size 4 and BRDs with block size 5

Chaudhry et al. (J Stat Plann Inference 106:303–327, 2002) have examined the existence of BRD(v, 5, λ)s for \({\lambda \in \{4, 10, 20\}}\). In addition, Ge et al. (J Combin Math Combin Comput 46:3–45, 2003) have investigated the existence of \({{\rm GBRD}(v,4,\lambda; \mathbb{G}){\rm s}}\) when \({\mathbb{G}}\) is a direct product of cyclic groups of prime orders. For the first problem, necessary existence conditions are (i) v ≥ 5, (ii) λ(v ? 1) ≡ 0 (mod4), (iii) λ v(v ? 1) ≡ 0 (mod 40), (iv) λ ≡ 0 (mod 2). We show these are sufficient, except for \({v=5, \lambda \in \{4,10\}}\). For the second problem, we improve the known existence results. Five necessary existence conditions are (i) v ≥ 4, (ii) \({\lambda \equiv 0\;({\rm mod}\,|\mathbb{G}|)}\), (iii) λ(v ? 1) ≡ 0 (mod 3), (iv) λ v(v ? 1) ≡ 0 (mod 4), (v) if v = 4 and \({|\mathbb{G}| \equiv 2\;({\rm mod}\,4)}\) then λ ≡ 0 (mod 4). We show these conditions are sufficient, except for \({\lambda = |\mathbb{G}|, (v,|\mathbb{G}|) \in \{(4,3), (10,2), (5,6), (7,4)\}}\) and possibly for \({\lambda = |\mathbb{G}|, (v,|\mathbb{G}|) \in \{(10,2h), (5,6h), (7,4h)\}}\) with h ≡ 1 or 5 (mod 6), h > 1.     

Coloring BIBDs with block size 4

It is shown that for each integer m ≥ 1 there exists a lower bound, v_m, with the property that for all v ≥ v_m with v ≡ 1, 4 (mod 12) there exists an m-chromatic S(2, 4, v) design. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Combin Designs 6: 403–409, 1998     

Incomplete perfect mendelsohn designs with block size 4 and one hole of size 7

Let v,k, and n be positive integers. An incomplete perfect Mendelsohn design, denoted by k-IPMD(v,n), is a triple (X, Y, ??) where X is a v-set (of points), Y is an n-subset of X, and ?? is a collection of cyclically ordered k-subsets of X (called blocks) such that every ordered pair (a, b) ∈ (X × X)?(Y × Y) appears t-apart in exactly one block of ?? and no ordered pair (a,b) ∈ Y × Y appears in any block of ?? for any t, where 1 ≤ t ≤ k ? 1. In this article, we obtain conclusive results regarding the existence of 4-IPMD(v,7) where the necessary conditions are v = 2 or 3(mod 4) and v ≥ 22. We also provide an application to the problem relating to coverings of PMDs with block size 4. © 1993 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

On uniformly resolvable designs with block sizes 3 and 4

A Uniformly Resolvable Design (URD) is a resolvable design in which each parallel class contains blocks of only one block size k, such a class is denoted k -pc and for a given k the number of k -pcs is denoted r _k . In this paper we consider the case of block sizes 3 and 4. The cases r ₃ = 1 and r ₄ = 1 correspond to Resolvable Group Divisible Designs (RGDD). We prove that if a 4-RGDD of type h ^u exists then all admissible {3, 4}-URDs with 12hu points exist. In particular, this gives existence for URD with v ≡ 0 (mod 48) points. We also investigate the case of URDs with a fixed number of k -pc. In particular, we show that URDs with r ₃ = 4 exist, and that those with r ₃ = 7, 10 exist, with 11 and 12 possible exceptions respectively, this covers all cases with 1 < r ₃ ≤ 10. Furthermore, we prove that URDs with r ₄ = 7 exist and that those with r ₄ = 9 exist, except when v = 12, 24 and possibly when v = 276. In addition, we prove that there exist 4-RGDDs of types 2 ¹⁴², 2 ³⁴⁶ and 6 ⁵⁴. Finally, we provide four {3,5}-URDs with 105 points.     

The Existence of (ν,6, λ)-Perfect Mendelsohn Designs with λ > 1

The basic necessary conditions for the existence of a (v, k, λ)-perfect Mendelsohn design (briefly (v, k, λ)-PMD) are v ≥ k and λ v(v − 1) ≡ 0 (mod k). These conditions are known to be sufficient in most cases, but certainly not in all. For k = 3, 4, 5, 7, very extensive investigations of (v, k, λ)-PMDs have resulted in some fairly conclusive results. However, for k = 6 the results have been far from conclusive, especially for the case of λ = 1, which was given some attention in papers by Miao and Zhu [34], and subsequently by Abel et al. [1]. Here we investigate the situation for k = 6 and λ > 1. We find that the necessary conditions, namely v ≥ 6 and λ v(v − 1)≡0 (mod 6) are sufficient except for the known impossible cases v = 6 and either λ = 2 or λ odd. Researcher F.E. Bennett supported by NSERC Grant OGP 0005320.     

A small generating set for the 3‐BD closed set of block sizes ≥ 6

Let v, k be positive integers and k ≥ 3, then K_k = : {v: v ≥ k} is a 3‐BD closed set. Two finite generating sets of 3‐BD closed sets K₄ and K₅ are obtained by H. Hanani [5] and Qiurong Wu [12] respectively. In this article we show that if v ≥ 6, then v ∈ B₃(K,1), where K = {6,7,…,41,45,46,47,51,52,53,83,84}\{22,26}; that is, we show that K is a generating set for K₆. Finally we show that v ∈ B₃(6,20) for all v ∈ K\{35,39,40,45}. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Combin Designs 16: 128–136, 2008     

Direct construction methods for incomplete perfect Mendelsohn designs with block size four

Let v, k, λ, and n be positive integers. An incomplete perfect Mendelsohn design, denoted by (v,n,k,λ)-IPMD, is a triple (X,Y,B) where X is a v-set (of points), Y is an n-subset of X, and B is a collection of cyclically ordered k-subsets of X (called blocks) such that every ordered pair (a,b) E (X × X)\(Y × Y) appears t-apart in exactly λ blocks of B and no ordered pair (a,b) E Y × Y appears in any block of B for any t, where 1 ≤ t ≤ k − 1. In this article, we introduce an effective and easy way to construct IPMDs for k = 4 and even v − n, and use it to construct some small examples for λ = 1 and 2. Obviously, these results will play an important role to completely solve the existence of (v,n,4,λ)-IPMDs. Furthermore, we also use this method to construct some small examples for HPMDs. © 1996 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Some results on λ‐designs with two block sizes

A λ‐design is a family ?? = {B₁, B₂, …, B_v} of subsets of X = {1, 2, …, v} such that |B_i∩B_j| = λ for all i≠jand not all B_i are of the same size. The only known example of λ‐designs (called type‐1 designs) are those obtained from symmetric designs by a certain complementation procedure. Ryser [J Algebra 10 (1968), 246–261] and Woodall [Proc London Math Soc 20 (1970), 669–687] independently conjectured that all λ‐designs are type‐1. Let g = gcd(r ? 1, r^* ? 1), where rand r^* are the two replication numbers. Ionin and Shrikhande [J Combin Comput 22 (1996), 135–142; J Combin Theory Ser A 74 (1996), 100–114] showed that λ‐designs with g = 1, 2, 3, 4 are type‐1 and that the Ryser–Woodall conjecture is true for λ‐designs on p + 1, 2p + 1, 3p + 1, 4p + 1 points, where pis a prime. Hein and Ionin [Codes and Designs—Proceedings of Conference honoring Prof. D. K. Ray‐Chaudhuri on the occasion of his 65th birthday, Ohio State University Mathematical Research Institute Publications, 10, Walter de Gruyter, Berlin, 2002, pp. 145–156] proved corresponding results for g = 5 and Fiala [Codes and Designs—Proceedings of Conference honoring Prof. D. K. Ray‐Chaudhuri on the occasion of his 65th birthday, Ohio State University Mathematical Research Institute Publications, 10, Walter de Gruyter, Berlin, 2002, pp. 109–124; Ars Combin 68 (2003), 17–32; Ars Combin, to appear] for g = 6, 7, and 8. In this article, we consider λ designs with exactly two block sizes. We show that in this case, the conjecture is true for g = 9, 11, 12, 13, 15, 16, 17, 19, 20, 21, and for g = 10, 14, 18, 22 with v≠4λ ? 1. We also give two results on such λ‐designs on v = 9p + 1 and 12p + 1 points, where pis a prime. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Combin Designs 19:95‐110, 2011     

Some results on (v,{5,w*})-pbds

In this article, we construct pairwise balanced designs (PBDs) on v points having blocks of size five, except for one block of size w ? {17,21,25,29,33}. A necessary condition for the existence of such a PBD is v ? 4w + 1 and (1) v ≡ 1 or 5 (mod 20) for w = 21, 25; (2) v ≡ 9 or 17 (mod 20) for w = 17,29; (3) v ≡ 13 (mod 20) for w = 33. We show that these necessary conditions are sufficient with at most 25 possible exceptions of (v,w). We also show that a BIBD B(5, 1; w) can be embedded in some B(5, 1; v) whenever v ≡ w ≡ 1 or 5 (mod 20) and v ? 5w ? 4, except possibly for (v, w) = (425, 65). © 1995 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Resolvable balanced incomplete block designs with subdesigns of block size 4

In this paper, we look at resolvable balanced incomplete block designs on v points having blocks of size 4, briefly (v,4,1) RBIBDs. The problem we investigate is the existence of (v,4,1) RBIBDs containing a (w,4,1) RBIBD as a subdesign. We also require that each parallel class of the subdesign should be in a single parallel class of the containing design. Removing the subdesign gives an incomplete RBIBD, i.e., an IRB(v,w). The necessary conditions for the existence of an IRB(v,w) are that v?4w and . We show these conditions are sufficient with a finite number (179) of exceptions, and in particular whenever and whenever w?1852.We also give some results on pairwise balanced designs on v points containing (at least one) block of size w, i.e., a (v,{K,w^*},1)-PBD.If the list of permitted block sizes, K₅, contains all integers of size 5 or more, and v,w∈K₅, then a necessary condition on this PBD is v?4w+1. We show this condition is not sufficient for any w?5 and give the complete spectrum (in v) for 5?w?8, as well as showing the condition v?5w is sufficient with some definite exceptions for w=5 and 6, and some possible exceptions when w=15, namely 77?v?79. The existence of this PBD implies the existence of an IRB(12v+4,12w+4).If the list of permitted block sizes, K₁₍₄₎, contains all integers , and v,w∈K₁₍₄₎, then a necessary condition on this PBD is v?4w+1. We show this condition is sufficient with a finite number of possible exceptions, and in particular is sufficient when w?1037. The existence of this PBD implies the existence of an IRB(3v+1,3w+1).     

Perfect Mendelsohn designs with equal-sized holes and block size four

Let M = {m₁, m₂, …, m_h} and X be a v-set (of points). A holey perfect Mendelsohn designs (briefly (v, k, λ) - HPMD), is a triple (X, H, B), where H is a collection of subsets of X (called holes) with sizes M and which partition X, and B is a collection of cyclic k-tuples of X (called blocks) such that no block meets a hole in more than one point and every ordered pair of points not contained in a hole appears t-apart in exactly λ blocks, for 1 ≤ t ≤ k − 1. The vector (m₁, m₂, …, m_h) is called the type of the HPMD. If m₁ = m₂ = … = m_h = m, we write briefly m^h for the type. In this article, it is shown that the necessary condition for the existence of a (v, 4, λ) - HPMD of type m^h, namely, is also sufficient with the exception of types 2⁴ and 1⁸ with λ = 1, and type m⁴ for odd m with odd λ. © 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Combin Designs 5: 203–213, 1997     

Quasi‐symmetric designs with fixed difference of block intersection numbers

The following results for proper quasi‐symmetric designs with non‐zero intersection numbers x,y and λ > 1 are proved.

• (1) Let D be a quasi‐symmetric design with z = y ? x and v ≥ 2k. If x ≥ 1 + z + z³ then λ < x + 1 + z + z³.
• (2) Let D be a quasi‐symmetric design with intersection numbers x, y and y ? x = 1. Then D is a design with parameters v = (1 + m) (2 + m)/2, b = (2 + m) (3 + m)/2, r = m + 3, k = m + 1, λ = 2, x = 1, y = 2 and m = 2,3,… or complement of one of these design or D is a design with parameters v = 5, b = 10, r = 6, k = 3, λ = 3, and x = 1, y = 2.
• (3) Let D be a triangle free quasi‐symmetric design with z = y ? x and v ≥ 2k, then x ≤ z + z².
• (4) For fixed z ≥ 1 there exist finitely many triangle free quasi‐symmetric designs non‐zero intersection numbers x, y = x + z.
• (5) There do not exist triangle free quasi‐symmetric designs with non‐zero intersection numbers x, y = x + 2.

© 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Combin Designs 15: 49–60, 2007     

Existence of HPMDs with block size five

In this article, it is shown that the necessary condition for the existence of a holey perfect Mendelsohn design (HPMD) with block size 5 and type hⁿ, namely, n ≥ 5 and n(n - 1)hⁿ ≡ 0 (mod 5), is also sufficient, except possibly for a few cases. The results of this article guarantee the analogous existence results for group divisible designs (GDDs) of group-type hⁿ with block size k = 5 and having index λ = 4. Moreover, some more conclusive results for the existence of (v, 5, 1)-perfect Mendelsohn designs (PMDs) are also mentioned. © 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Combin Designs 5: 257–273, 1997     

On the existence of pure (v, 4, λ)-PMD with λ = 1 and 2

In this article, we investigate the existence of pure (v, 4, λ)-PMD with λ = 1 and 2, and obtain the following results: (1) a pure (v, 4, 1)-PMD exists for every positive integer v = 0 or 1 (mod 4) with the exception of v = 4 and 8 and the possible exception of v = 12; (2) a pure (v, 4, 2)-PMD exists for every integer v ≥ 6. © 1994 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.