A new construction for Williamson-type matrices

It is shown that ifq is a prime power then there are Williamson-type matrices of order

1. 1/2q ²(q + 1) whenq ≡ 1 (mod 4).
2. 1/4q ²(q + 1) whenq ≡ 3 (mod 4) and there are Williamson-type matrices of order 1/4(q + 1).

This gives Williamson-type matrices for the new orders 363, 1183, 1805, 2601, 3174, 5103. The construction can be combined with known results on orthogonal designs to give an Hadamard matrix of the new order 33396 = 4 ? 8349.     

Minimal cogenerators need not be unique

A_n = A_n(?) denotes the unique left distributive binary system on {0, 1,…,2ⁿ?1) that satisfies a ? 1 = a + 1 mod 2ⁿfor all a ? A_n, and o_n(a) = k indicates the period 2^kof a ? A_n (if b,c ? A_n, then a ? b = a ? c iff b ‵ c mod 2^kand if 0 < b < c < 2^kthen a < a ? b < a ? c). Amongs others, we prove that o_t2(2^t?2) ≤ t holds for every integer t ≥ 2, the equality taking place iff t is of the form 2^2? for an integer s ≥ 0.     

Sur la quasi-convexité des arcs trinomiaux

From the equationp ^n?k sinnθ?ρ ⁿ sin(n?k)θ=sinkθ we will show that the function σ=σ(θ) is increasing for the arcsA _m , obtained when one putsn=m, k=m?1 andm=3,4,5,… Next, we will study the arcsB _m obtained whenn=m, k=m?2 andm an odd integer larger than 3. In this case, σ(θ) will be shown to be a decreasing function. Finally, the Farey arcsF(p,q;r,s) are obtained whenn=s, k=q, s andq relatively prime. It will be proved that the function σ(θ) is strictly quasi-convex.     

A bound for wilson's theorem (I)

In 1975, Richard M. Wilson proved: Given any positive integers k ? 3 and λ, there exists a constant v⁰ = v⁰(k, λ) such that v ? B(k,λ) for every integer v ? v⁰ that satisfies λ(v ? 1) ≡ 0(mod k ? 1) and λv(v ? 1) ≡ 0[mod k(k ? 1)]. The proof given by Wilson does not provide an explicit value of v⁰. We try to find such a value v⁰(k, λ). In this article we consider the case λ = 1 and v ≡ 1[mod k(k ? 1)]. We show that: if k ? 3 and v = 1[mod k(k ? 1)] where v > k^kk5, then a B(v,k, 1) exists. © 1995 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

The spectrum of additive BIB designs

In this article, the existence of additive BIB designs is discussed with direct and recursive constructions, together with investigation of a property of resolvability. Such designs can be used to construct infinite families of BIB designs. In particular, we obtain a series of B(sⁿ, ts^m, λt (ts^m ? 1) (s^n‐m ? 1)/[2(s^m ? 1)]) for any positive integer λ, such that sⁿ (sⁿ ? 1) λ ≡ 0 (mod s^m (s^m ? 1) and for any positive integer t with 2 ≤ t ≤ s^n‐m, where s is an odd prime power. Connections between additive BIB designs and other combinatorial objects such as multiply nested designs and perpendicular arrays are discussed. A construction of resolvable BIB designs with v = 4k is also proposed. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Combin Designs 15: 235–254, 2007     

Ore’s conjecture for k=4 and Grötzsch’s Theorem

A graph G is k-critical if it has chromatic number k, but every proper subgraph of G is (k?1)-colorable. Let f _k (n) denote the minimum number of edges in an n-vertex k-critical graph. In a very recent paper, we gave a lower bound, f _k (n)≥(k, n), that is sharp for every n≡1 (mod k?1). It is also sharp for k=4 and every n≥6. In this note, we present a simple proof of the bound for k=4. It implies the case k=4 of two conjectures: Gallai in 1963 conjectured that if n≡1 (mod k?1) then \(f_k (n)\tfrac{{(k + 1)(k - 2)n - k(k - 3)}} {{2(k - 1)}}\) , and Ore in 1967 conjectured that for every k≥4 and \(n \geqslant k + 2,f_k (n + k - 1) = f(n) + \tfrac{{k - 1}} {2}(k - \tfrac{2} {{k - 1}})\) . We also show that our result implies a simple short proof of Grötzsch’s Theorem that every triangle-free planar graph is 3-colorable.     

Decomposition of k1n into circuits of odd length

In this paper we prove that the complete symmetric directed graph with n vertices K¹_n can be decomposed into directed circuits of length k, where k is an odd integer, if n ≡ 0 or 1 (mod k) and n ? k.     

Existence results for near resolvable designs

A near resolvable design, NRB(v, k), is a balanced incomplete block design whose block set can be partitioned into v classes such that each class contains every point of the design but one, and each point is missing from exactly one class. The necessary conditions for the existence of near resolvable designs are v ≡ 1 mod k and λ = k ? 1. These necessary conditions have been shown to be sufficient for k ? {2,3,4} and almost always sufficient for k ? {5,6}. We are able to show that there exists an integer n₀(k) so that NRB(v,k) exist for all v > n₀(k) and v ≡ 1 mod k. Using some new direct constructions we show that there are many k for which it is easy to compute an explicit bound on n₀(k). These direct constructions also allow us to build previously unknown NRB(v,5) and NRB(v,6). © 1995 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

3-(v, 4, 1) covering designs with chromatic numbers 2 and 3

A t-(v, k, λ) covering design is a pair (X, B) where X is a v-set and B is a collection of k-sets in X, called blocks, such that every t element subset of X is contained in at least λ blocks of B. The covering number, C_λ(t, k, v), is the minimum number of blocks a t-(v, k, λ) covering design may have. The chromatic number of (X, B) is the smallest m for which there exists a map φ: X → Z_m such that ∣φ((β)∣ ≥2 for all β ∈ B, where φ(β) = {φ(x): x ∈ β}. The system (X, B) is equitably m-chromatic if there is a proper coloring φ with minimal m for which the numbers ∣φ^?1(c)∣ c ∈ Z_m differ from each other by at most 1. In this article we show that minimum, (i.e., ∣B∣ = C λ (t, k, v)) equitably 3-chromatic 3-(v, 4, 1) covering designs exist for v ≡ 0 (mod 6), v ≥ 18 for v ≥ 1, 13 (mod 36), v ≡ 13 and for all numbers v = n, n + 1, where n ≡ 4, 8, 10 (mod 12), n ≥ 16; and n = 6.5^a 13^b 17^c ?4, a + b + c > 0, and n = 14, 62. We also show that minimum, equitably 2-chromatic 3-(v, 4, 1) covering designs exist for v ≡ 0, 5, 9 (mod 12), v ≥ 0, v = 2.5^a 13^b 17^c + 1, a + b + c > 0, and v = 23. © 1993 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

An existence theory for pairwise balanced designs,III: Proof of the existence conjectures

Given positive integers k and λ, balanced incomplete block designs on v points with block size k and index λ exist for all sufficiently large integers v satisfying the congruences λ(v ? 1) ≡ 0 (mod k ? 1) and λv(v ? 1) ≡ 0 (mod k(k ? 1)). Analogous results hold for pairwise balanced designs where the block sizes come from a given set K of positive integers. We also observe that the number of nonisomorphic designs on v points with given block size k > 2 and index λ tends to infinity as v increases (subject to the above congruences).     

Binomial coefficients, Catalan numbers and Lucas quotients

Let p be an odd prime and let a,m ∈ Z with a 0 and p ︱ m.In this paper we determinep ∑k=0 pa-1(2k k=d)/mk mod p2 for d=0,1;for example,where(-) is the Jacobi symbol and {un}n≥0 is the Lucas sequence given by u0 = 0,u1 = 1 and un+1 =(m-2)un-un-1(n = 1,2,3,...).As an application,we determine ∑0kpa,k≡r(mod p-1) Ck modulo p2 for any integer r,where Ck denotes the Catalan number 2kk /(k + 1).We also pose some related conjectures.     

Regular sets of matrices and applications

SupposeA ₁,...,A _s are (1, - 1) matrices of order m satisfying 1 $$A_i A_j = J, i,j \in \left\{ {1,...s} \right\}$$ 2 $$A_i^T A_j = A_j^T A_i = J, i \ne j, i,j \in \left\{ {1,...,s} \right\}$$ 3 $$\sum\limits_{i = 1}^s {(A_i A_i^T = A_i^T A_i ) = 2smI_m } $$ 4 $$JA_i = A_i J = aJ, i \in \left\{ {1,...,s} \right\}, a constant$$ Call A₁,…,A _s ,a regular s- set of matrices of order m if Eq. 1-3 are satisfied and a regular s-set of regular matrices if Eq. 4 is also satisfied, these matrices were first discovered by J. Seberry and A.L. Whiteman in “New Hadamard matrices and conference matrices obtained via Mathon’s construction”, Graphs and Combinatorics, 4(1988), 355-377. In this paper, we prove that

1. if there exist a regular s-set of order m and a regulart-set of order n there exists a regulars-set of ordermn whent =sm
2. if there exist a regular s-set of order m and a regulart-set of order n there exists a regulars-set of ordermn when 2t = sm (m is odd)
3. if there exist a regulars-set of order m and a regulart-set of ordern there exists a regular 2s-set of ordermn whent = 2sm As applications, we prove that if there exist a regulars-set of order m there exists
4. an Hadamard matrices of order4hm whenever there exists an Hadamard matrix of order4h ands =2h
5. Williamson type matrices of ordernm whenever there exists Williamson type matrices of ordern and s = 2n
6. anOD(4mp;ms₁,…,ms_u whenever anOD (4p;s₁,…,s_u)exists and s = 2p
7. a complex Hadamard matrix of order 2cm whenever there exists a complex Hadamard matrix of order 2c ands = 2c

This paper extends and improves results of Seberry and Whiteman giving new classes of Hadamard matrices, Williamson type matrices, orthogonal designs and complex Hadamard matrices.     

A new proof of the three squares theorem

A theorem of Fein, Gordon, and Smith on the representation of ?1 as a sum of two squares is shown to yield a new proof of the three squares theorem. A positive integer k can be represented as a sum of three integer squares if and only if k ≠ 4^an with n ≡ 7 (mod 8) and a ≥ 0. This proof depends of the Brauer group and class field theory, not on ternary quadratic forms.     

Extended skolem sequences

A k-extended Skolem sequence of order n is an integer sequence (s₁, s₂,…, s_2n+1) in which s_k = 0 and for each j ? {1,…,n}, there exists a unique i ? {1,…, 2n} such that s_i = s_i+j = j. We show that such a sequence exists if and only if either 1) k is odd and n ≡ 0 or 1 (mod 4) or (2) k is even and n ≡ 2 or 3 (mod 4). The same conditions are also shown to be necessary and sufficient for the existence of excess Skolem sequences. Finally, we use extended Skolem sequences to construct maximal cyclic partial triple systems. © 1995 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Further results on large sets of disjoint group‐divisible designs with block size three and type 2n41

Large sets of disjoint group‐divisible designs with block size three and type 2ⁿ4¹ were first studied by Schellenberg and Stinson because of their connection with perfect threshold schemes. It is known that such large sets can exist only for n ≡0 (mod 3) and do exist for all odd n ≡ (mod 3) and for even n=24m, where m odd ≥ 1. In this paper, we show that such large sets exist also for n=2^k(3m), where m odd≥ 1 and k≥ 5. To accomplish this, we present two quadrupling constructions and two tripling constructions for a special large set called ^*LS(2ⁿ). © 2002 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Combin Designs 11: 24–35, 2003; Published online in Wiley InterScience ( www.interscience.wiley.com ). DOI 10.1002/jcd.10032     

A note on character sums

Let $\text{S(k) = Σ}{}_{\mathrm{n=1}}{}^{\mathrm{p?1}}\text{(}\text{n}\text{p}\text{)n}{}^{\mathrm{k}}$ where p is a prime ≡ 3 mod 4 and k is an integer ≥ 3. Then S(k) frequently takes large values of each sign.     

Sets of nonnegative matrices with positive inhomogeneous products

Let X be a set of k×k matrices in which each element is nonnegative. For a positive integer n, let P(n) be an arbitrary product of n matrices from X, with any ordering and with repetitions permitted. Define X to be a primitive set if there is a positive integer n such that every P(n) is positive [i.e., every element of every P(n) is positive]. For any primitive set X of matrices, define the index g(X) to be the least positive n such that every P(n) is positive. We show that if X is a primitive set, then g(X)?2^k?2. Moreover, there exists a primitive set Y such that g(Y) = 2^k?2.     

Rigidity theorems for hypersurfaces with constant mean curvature

Let M ⁿ be a compact oriented hypersurface of a unit sphere \(\mathbb{S}^{n + 1} \) (1) with constant mean curvature H. Given an integer k between 2 and n ? 1, we introduce a tensor ? related to H and to the second fundamental form A of M, and show that if |?|² ≤ B _H,k and tr(? ³) ≤ C _n,k |?|³, where B _H,k and C _n,k are numbers depending only on H, n and k, then either |?|² ≡ 0 or |?|² ≡ B _H,k . We characterize all M ⁿ with |?|² ≡ B _H,k . We also prove that if \(\left| A \right|^2 \leqslant 2\sqrt {k(n - k)}\) and tr(? ³) ≤ C _n,k |?|³ then |A|² is constant and characterize all M ⁿ with |A|² in the interval \(\left[ {0,2\sqrt {k\left( {n - k} \right)} } \right] \) . We also study the behavior of |?|², with the condition additional tr(? ³) ≤ C _n,k |?|³, for complete hypersurfaces with constant mean curvature immersed in space forms and show that if sup _M |?|² = B _H,k and this supremum is attained in M ⁿ then M ⁿ is an isoparametric hypersurface with two distinct principal curvatures of multiplicities k y n ? k. Finally, we use rotation hypersurfaces to show that the condition on the trace of ? ³ is necessary in our results; more precisely, for each integer k with 2 ≤ k ≤ n ? 1 and \(H \geqslant 1/\sqrt {2n - 1} \) there is a complete hypersurface M ⁿ in \(\mathbb{S}^{n + 1} \) (1) with constant mean curvature H such that sup _M |?|² = B _H,k , and this supremum is attained in M ⁿ , and which is not a product of spheres.     

A symmetry relationship for a class of partitions

Let S(n, k, v) denote the number of vectors (a₀,…, a_n?1) with nonnegative integer components that satisfy a₀ + … + a_{n ? 1} = k and Σ_i=0^n?1ia_i ≡ v (mod n). Two proofs are given for the relation S(n, k, v) = S(k, n, v). The first proof is by algebraic enumeration while the second is by combinatorial construction.     

On the exactness of certain inequalities in approximation theory

We prove the following: for every sequence {F_v}, F_v ? 0, F_v > 0 there exists a functionf such that

1. E_n(f)?F_n (n=0, 1, 2, ...) and
2. A_kn^?k? _v=1 ⁿ v^k?1 F_v?1?Ω_k (f, n^?1) (n=1, 2, ...).