Improving two theorems of bose on difference families

In [2] R. C. Bose gives a sufficient condition for the existence of a (q, 5, 1) difference family in (GF(q), +)—where q ≡ 1 mod 20 is a prime power — with the property that every base block is a coset of the 5th roots of unity. Similarly he gives a sufficient condition for the existence of a (q, 4, 1) difference family in (GF(q, +)—where q ≡ 1 mod 12 is a prime power — with the property that every base block is the union of a coset of the 3rd roots of unity with zero. In this article we replace the mentioned sufficient conditions with necessary and sufficient ones. As a consequence, we obtain new infinite classes of simple difference families and hence new Steiner 2-designs with block sizes 4 and 5. In particular, we get a (p^4α, 5, 1)-DF for any odd prime p ≡ 2, 3 (mod 5), and a (p^2α, 4, 1)-DF for any odd prime p ≡ 2 (mod 3). © 1995 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

A packing problem its application to Bose's families

We propose and study the following problem: given X ⊂ Z_n, construct a maximum packing of dev X (the development of X), i.e., a maximum set of pairwise disjoint translates of X. Such a packing is optimal when its size reaches the upper bound . In particular, it is perfect when its size is exactly equal to i.e. when it is a partition of Z_n. We apply the above problem for constructing Bose's families. A (q, k) Bose's family (BF) is a nonempty family F of subsets of the field GF(q) such that: (i) each member of F is a coset of the kth roots of unity for k odd (the union of a coset of the (k - 1)th roots of unity and zero for k even); (ii) the development of F, i.e., the incidence structure , is a semilinear space. A (q, k)-BF is optimal when its size reaches the upper bound . In particular, it is perfect when its size is exactly equal to ; in this case the (q, k)-BF is a (q, k, 1) difference family and its development is a linear space. If the set of (q, k)-BF's is not empty, there is a bijection preserving maximality, optimality, and perfectness between this set with the set of packings of dev X, where X is a suitable -subset of Z_n, for k odd, for k even. © 1996 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Existence of (q,k, 1) difference families with q a prime power and k = 4, 5

The existence of a (q, k, 1) difference family in GF(q) has been completely solved for k = 3. For k = 4, 5 partial results have been given by Bose, Wilson, and Buratti. In this article, we continue the investigation and show that the necessary condition for the existence of a (q, k, 1) difference family in GF(q), i.e., q ≡ 1 (mod k(k − 1)) is also sufficient for k = 4, 5. For general k, Wilson's bound shows that a (q, k, 1) difference family in GF(q) exists whenever q ≡ 1 (mod k(k − 1)) and q > [k(k − 1)/2]^k(k−1). An improved bound on q is also presented. © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Combin Designs 7: 21–30, 1999     

Existence of (q, 7, 1) difference families with q a prime power

The existence of a (q,k, 1) difference family in GF(q) has been completely solved for k = 3,4,5,6. For k = 7 only partial results have been given. In this article, we continue the investigation and use Weil's theorem on character sums to show that the necessary condition for the existence of a (q,7,1) difference family in GF(q), i.e. q ≡ 1; (mod 42) is also sufficient except for q = 43 and possibly except for q = 127, q = 211, q = 31⁶ and primes q∈ [261239791, 1.236597 × 10¹³] such that in GF(q). © 2002 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Combin Designs 10: 126–138, 2002; DOI 10.1002/jcd.998     

On completely free elements in finite fields

Letq>1 be a prime power,m>1 an integer,GF(q ^m) andGF (q) the Galois fields of orderq ^m andq, respectively. We show that the different module structures of (GF(q ^m), +) arising from the intermediate fields of the field extensionGF(q ^m) overGF (q), can be studied simultaneously with the help of some basic properties of cyclotomic polynomials. The results can be generalized to finite cyclic Galois extensions over arbitrary fields.In 1986, D. Blessenohl and K. Johnsen proved that there exist elements inGF(q ^m) which generate normal bases inGF(q ^m) overany intermediate fieldGF(q ^d) ofGF(q ^m) overGF(q). Such elements are called completely free inGF(q ^m) overGF(q). Using our ideas, we give a detailed and constructive proof of the most difficult part of that theorem, i.e., the existence of completely free elements inGF(q ^m), overGF(q) provided thatm is a prime power. The general existence problem of completely free elements is easily reduced to this special case.Furthermore, we develop a recursive formula for the number of completely free elements inGF(q ^m) overGF(q) in the case wherem is a prime power.     

P.I.G-rings and the contractability of primes

LetR=F{x ₁, …, x_k} be a prime affine p.i. ring andS a multiplicative closed set in the center ofR, Z(R). The structure ofG-rings of the formR _s is completely determined. In particular it is proved thatZ(R _s)—the normalization ofZ(R _s) —is a prüfer ring, 1≦k.d(R _s)≦p.i.d(R _s) and the inequalities can be strict. We also obtain a related result concerning the contractability ofq, a prime ideal ofZ(R) fromR. More precisely, letQ be a prime ideal ofR maximal to satisfyQϒZ(R)=q. Then k.dZ(R)/q=k.dR/Q, h(q)=h(Q) andh(q)+k.dZ(R)/q=k.dz(R). The last condition is a necessary butnot sufficient condition for contractability ofq fromR.     

Large sets of 3-designs from psl(2, q), with block sizes 4 and 5

We determine the distribution of 3?(q + 1,k,λ) designs, with k ? {4,5}, among the orbits of k-element subsets under the action of PSL(2,q), for q ? 3 (mod 4), on the projective line. As a consequence, we give necessary and sufficient conditions for the existence of a uniformly-PSL(2,q) large set of 3?(q + 1,k,λ) designs, with k ? {4,5} and q ≡ 3 (mod 4). © 1995 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Inverting the Motivic Bott Element

We prove a version for motivic cohomology of Thomason's theorem on Bott-periodic K-theory, namely, that for a field k containing the nth roots of unity, the mod n motivic cohomology of a smooth k-scheme agrees with mod n étale cohomology, after inverting the element in H⁰(k,(1)) corresponding to a primitive nth root of unity.     

On small blocking sets and their linearity

We prove that a small minimal blocking set of PG(2,q) is “very close” to be a linear blocking set over some subfield GF(pe)<GF(q). This implies that (i) a similar result holds in PG(n,q) for small minimal blocking sets with respect to k-dimensional subspaces (0?k?n) and (ii) most of the intervals in the interval-theorems of Sz?nyi and Sz?nyi-Weiner are empty.     

Path length in the covering graph of a lattice

Here it is proved that a cyclic (n, k) code over GF(q) is equidistant if and only if its parity check polynomial is irreducible and has exponent $\text{e =}\text{(q}{}^{\mathrm{k}}\text{? 1)}\text{a}$ where a divides q ? 1 and (a, k) = 1. The length n may be any multiple of e. The proof of this theorem also shows that if a cyclic (n,k) code over GF(q) is not a repetition of a shorter code and the average weight of its nonzero code words is integral, then its parity check polynomial is irreducible over GF(q) with exponent $\text{n =}\text{(q}{}^{\mathrm{k}}\text{? 1)}\text{a}$ where a divides q ? 1.     

List circular coloring of trees and cycles

Suppose G=(V, E) is a graph and p ≥ 2q are positive integers. A (p, q)‐coloring of G is a mapping ?: V → {0, 1, …, p‐1} such that for any edge xy of G, q ≤ |?(x)‐?(y)| ≤ p‐q. A color‐list is a mapping L: V → ({0, 1, …, p‐1}) which assigns to each vertex v a set L(v) of permissible colors. An L‐(p, q)‐coloring of G is a (p, q)‐coloring ? of G such that for each vertex v, ?(v) ∈ L(v). We say G is L‐(p, q)‐colorable if there exists an L‐(p, q)‐coloring of G. A color‐size‐list is a mapping ? which assigns to each vertex v a non‐negative integer ?(v). We say G is ?‐(p, q)‐colorable if for every color‐list L with |L(v)| = ?(v), G is L‐(p, q)‐colorable. In this article, we consider list circular coloring of trees and cycles. For any tree T and for any p ≥ 2q, we present a necessary and sufficient condition for T to be ?‐(p, q)‐colorable. For each cycle C and for each positive integer k, we present a condition on ? which is sufficient for C to be ?‐(2k+1, k)‐colorable, and the condition is sharp. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Graph Theory 55: 249–265, 2007     

Building Symmetric Designs With Building Sets

We introduce a uniform technique for constructing a family of symmetric designs with parameters (v(q ^m+1-1)/(q-1), kq ^m ,q ^m), where m is any positive integer, (v, k, ) are parameters of an abelian difference set, and q = k ²/(k - ) is a prime power. We utilize the Davis and Jedwab approach to constructing difference sets to show that our construction works whenever (v, k, ) are parameters of a McFarland difference set or its complement, a Spence difference set or its complement, a Davis–Jedwab difference set or its complement, or a Hadamard difference set of order 9 · 4 ^d , thus obtaining seven infinite families of symmetric designs.     

The asymptotic number of labeled connected graphs with a given number of vertices and edges

Let c(n, q) be the number of connected labeled graphs with n vertices and q ≤ N = (2n ) edges. Let x = q/n and k = q ? n. We determine functions w_k ? 1. a(x) and φ(x) such that c(n, q) ? w_k(q^N)eⁿφ(x)+a(x) uniformly for all n and q ≥ n. If ? > 0 is fixed, n→ ∞ and 4q > (1 + ?)n log n, this formula simplifies to c(n, q) ? (N^q) exp(–ne^?2q/n). on the other hand, if k = o(n^1/2), this formula simplifies to c(n, n + k) ? 1/2 w_k (3/π)^1/2 (e/12k)^k/2nⁿ?^(3k?1)/2.     

Resolutions of PG(5, 2) with point‐cyclic automorphism group

A t‐(υ, k, λ) design is a set of υ points together with a collection of its k‐subsets called blocks so that all subsets of t points are contained in exactly λ blocks. The d‐dimensional projective geometry over GF(q), PG(d, q), is a 2‐(q^d + q^d−1 + … + q + 1, q + 1, 1) design when we take its points as the points of the design and its lines as the blocks of the design. A 2‐(υ, k, 1) design is said to be resolvable if the blocks can be partitioned as ℛ = {R₁, R₂, …, R_s}, where s = (υ − 1)/(k−1) and each R_i consists of υ/k disjoint blocks. If a resolvable design has an automorphism σ which acts as a cycle of length υ on the points and ℛ^σ = ℛ, then the design is said to be point‐cyclically resolvable. The design associated with PG(5, 2) is known to be resolvable and in this paper, it is shown to be point‐cyclically resolvable by enumerating all inequivalent resolutions which are invariant under a cyclic automorphism group G = 〈σ〉 where σ is a cycle of length 63. These resolutions are the only resolutions which admit a point‐transitive automorphism group. Furthermore, some necessary conditions for the point‐cyclic resolvability of 2‐(υ, k, 1) designs are also given. © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Combin Designs 8: 2–14, 2000     

Equitable resolvable coverings

In an earlier article, Willem H. Haemers has determined the minimum number of parallel classes in a resolvable 2‐(qk,k,1) covering for all k ≥ 2 and q = 2 or 3. Here, we complete the case q = 4, by construction of the desired coverings using the method of simulated annealing. Secondly, we look at equitable resolvable 2‐(qk,k,1) coverings. These are resolvable coverings which have the additional property that every pair of points is covered at most twice. We show that these coverings satisfy k < 2q ? , and we give several examples. In one of these examples, k > q. © 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Combin Designs 11: 113–123, 2003; Published online in Wiley InterScience ( www.interscience.wiley.com ). DOI 10.1002/jcd.10024     

Characterization of seminuclear sets in a finite projective plane

LetC be a set ofq + a points in the desarguesian projective plane of orderq, such that each point ofC is on exactly 1 tangent, and onea+ 1-secant (a>1). Then eitherq=a + 2 andC consists of the symmetric difference of two lines, with one further point removed from each line, orq=2a + 3 andC is projectively equivalent to the set of points {(0,1,s),(s, 0, 1),(1,s, 0): -s is not a square inGF(q)}.     

Constructions of （q,K, λ, t,Q） almost difference families

The concept of a （q, k, λ, t） almost dltterence tamlly （ADF） nas oeen introduced and studied by C. Ding and J. Yin as a useful generalization of the concept of an almost difference set. In this paper, we consider, more generally, （q, K,λ, t, Q）-ADFs, where K = {k1, k2,.…, kr} is a set of positive integers and Q = （q1,q2,... ,qr） is a given block-size distribution sequence. A necessary condition for the existence of a （q, K, λ, t, Q）-ADF is given, and several infinite classes of （q, K, A, t, Q）-ADFs are constructed.     

2-Designs overGF(q)

We give a construction of a series of 2-(n, 3,q ²+q+1;q) designs of vector spaces over a finite fieldGF(q) of odd characteristic. These designs correspond to those constructed by Thomas and the author for even characteristic. As a natural generalization we give a collection ofm-dimensional subspaces which possibly become a 2-(n, m, λ; q) design.     

Generalized Lyapunov–Schmidt Reduction Method and Normal Forms for the Study of Bifurcations of Periodic Points in Families of Reversible Diffeomorphisms

We introduce a general reduction method for the study of periodic points near a fixed point in a family of reversible diffeomorphisms. We impose no restrictions on the linearization at the fixed point except invertibility, allowing higher multiplicities. It is shown that the problem reduces to a similar problem for a reduced family of diffeomorphisms, which is itself reversible, but also has an additional ? ^q -symmetry. The reversibility in combination with the ? ^q -symmetry translates to a 𝕋 ^q -symmetry for the problem, which allows to write down the bifurcation equations. Moreover, the reduced family can be calculated up to any order by a normal form reduction on the original system. The method of proof combines normal forms with the Lyapunov–Schmidt method, and makes repetitive use of the Implicit Function Theorem. As an application we analyze the branching of periodic points near a fixed point in a family of reversible mappings, when for a critical value of the parameters the linearization at the fixed point has either a pair of simple purely imaginary eigenvalues that are roots of unity or a pair of non-semisimple purely imaginary eigenvalues that are roots of unity with algebraic multiplicity 2 and geometric multiplicity 1.