Generalized Steiner systems GS4 (2, 4, v,g) for g = 2, 3, 6

Generalized Steiner systems GS_d(t, k, v, g) were first introduced by Etzion and used to construct optimal constant‐weight codes over an alphabet of size g + 1 with minimum Hamming distance d, in which each codeword has length v and weight k. Much work has been done for the existence of generalized Steiner triple systems GS(2, 3, v, g). However, for block size four there is not much known on GS_d(2, 4, v, g). In this paper, the necessary conditions for the existence of a GS_d(t, k, v, g) are given, which answers an open problem of Etzion. Some singular indirect product constructions for GS_d(2, k, v, g) are also presented. By using both recursive and direct constructions, it is proved that the necessary conditions for the existence of a GS₄(2, 4, v, g) are also sufficient for g = 2, 3, 6. © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Combin Designs 9: 401–423, 2001     

Generalized steiner triple systems with group size five

Generalized Steiner triple systems, GS(2, 3, n, g) are used to construct maximum constant weight codes over an alphabet of size g+1 with distance 3 and weight 3 in which each codeword has length n. The existence of GS(2, 3, n, g) has been solved for g=2, 3, 4, 9. In this paper, by introducing a special kind of holey generalized Steiner triple systems (denoted by HGS(2, 3, (n, u), g)), singular indirect product (SIP) construction for GDDs is used to construct generalized Steiner systems. The numerical necessary conditions for the existence of a GS(2, 3, n, g) are shown to be sufficient for g=5.     

Optimal holey packings OHP4(2, 4, n ,3)'s

An optimal holey packing OHP_d(2, k, n, g) is equivalent to a maximal (g + 1)‐ary (n, k, d) constant weight code. In this paper, we provide some recursive constructions for OHP_d(2, k, n, g)'s and use them to investigate the existence of an OHP₄(2, 4, n, 3) for n ≡ 2, 3 (mod 4). Combining this with Wu's result ( 18 ), we prove that the necessary condition for the existence of an OHP₄(2, 4, n, 3), namely, n ≥ 5 is also sufficient, except for n ∈ {6, 7} and except possibly for n = 26. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Combin Designs 14: 111–123, 2006     

Group‐divisible designs with block size k having k + 1 groups,for k = 4, 5

We investigate the spectrum for k‐GDDs having k + 1 groups, where k = 4 or 5. We take advantage of new constructions introduced by R. S. Rees (Two new direct product‐type constructions for resolvable group‐divisible designs, J Combin Designs, 1 (1993), 15–26) to construct many new designs. For example, we show that a resolvable 4‐GDD of type g⁵ exists if and only if g ≡ 0 mod 12 and that a resolvable 5‐GDD of type g⁶ exists if and only if g ≡ 0 mod 20. We also show that a 4‐GDD of type g⁴m¹ exists (with m > 0) if and only if g ≡ m ≡ 0 mod 3 and 0 < m ≤ 3g/2, except possibly when (g,m) = (9,3) or (18,6), and that a 5‐GDD of type g⁵m¹ exists (with m > 0) if and only if g ≡ m ≡ 0 mod 4 and 0 < m ≤ 4g/3, with 32 possible exceptions. © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Combin Designs 8: 363–386, 2000     

Modified frames with block size 3

A modified (k, λ)‐frame of type g^u is a modified (k, λ)‐GDD whose blocks can be partitioned into holey parallel classes, each of which is with respect to some group. Modified frames can be used to construct some other resolvable designs such as resolvable group divisible designs and semiframes. In this article, we shall investigate the existence of modified frames with block size 3. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Combin Designs 16: 351–363, 2008     

4‐*GDD(6n)s and Related Optimal Quaternary Constant‐Weight Codes

Constant‐weight codes (CWCs) have played an important role in coding theory. To construct CWCs, a K‐GDD (where GDD is group divisible design) with the “star” property, denoted by K‐*GDD, was introduced, in which any two intersecting blocks intersect in at most two common groups. In this paper, we consider the existence of 4‐*GDDs. Previously, the necessary conditions for existence were shown to be sufficient for , and also sufficient for with prime powers and . We continue to investigate the existence of 4‐*GDD(6ⁿ)s and show that the necessary condition for the existence of a 4‐*GDD(6ⁿ), namely, , is also sufficient. The known results on the existence of optimal quaternary (n, 5, 4) CWCs are also extended.     

Some more 5‐GDDs and optimal (v), 5, 1)‐packings

In this paper, we continue to investigate the existence of 5‐GDDs with types g⁵ m¹ and g^u. As an application, the known results on the existence of optimal packings with block size 5 are also improved. © 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Existence of T*(3, 4,v)‐codes

A word of length k over an alphabet Q of size v is a vector of length k with coordinates taken from Q. Let Q^*₄ be the set of all words of length 4 over Q. A T^*(3, 4, v)‐code over Q is a subset C^*? Q^*₄ such that every word of length 3 over Q occurs as a subword in exactly one word of C^*. Levenshtein has proved that a T^*(3, 4, vv)‐code exists for all even v. In this paper, the notion of a generalized candelabra t‐system is introduced and used to show that a T^*(3, 4, v)‐code exists for all odd v. Combining this with Levenshtein's result, the existence problem for a T^*(3,4, v)‐code is solved completely. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Combin Designs 13: 42–53, 2005.     

Rotational k‐cycle systems of order v < 3k; another proof of the existence of odd cycle systems

We give an explicit solution to the existence problem for 1‐rotational k‐cycle systems of order v < 3k with k odd and v ≠ 2k + 1. We also exhibit a 2‐rotational k‐cycle system of order 2k + 1 for any odd k. Thus, for k odd and any admissible v < 3k there exists a 2‐rotational k‐cycle system of order v. This may also be viewed as an alternative proof that the obvious necessary conditions for the existence of odd cycle systems are also sufficient. © 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Combin Designs 11: 433–441, 2003; Published online in Wiley InterScience ( www.interscience.wiley.com ). DOI 10.1002/jcd.10061     

Super‐simple resolvable balanced incomplete block designs with block size 4 and index 3

The necessary conditions for the existence of a super‐simple resolvable balanced incomplete block design on v points with k = 4 and λ = 3, are that v ≥ 8 and v ≡ 0 mod 4. These conditions are shown to be sufficient except for v = 12. © 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Super‐simple holey Steiner pentagon systems and related designs

A Steiner pentagon system of order v (SPS(v)) is said to be super‐simple if its underlying (v, 5, 2)‐BIBD is super‐simple; that is, any two blocks of the BIBD intersect in at most two points. It is well known that the existence of a holey Steiner pentagon system (HSPS) of type T implies the existence of a (5, 2)‐GDD of type T. We shall call an HSPS of type T super‐simple if its underlying (5, 2)‐GDD of type T is super‐simple; that is, any two blocks of the GDD intersect in at most two points. The existence of HSPSs of uniform type hⁿ has previously been investigated by the authors and others. In this article, we focus our attention on the existence of super‐simple HSPSs of uniform type hⁿ. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Combin Designs 16: 301–328, 2008     

Alternating groups and flag‐transitive 2‐(v,k, 4) symmetric designs

In this article, we study the classification of flag‐transitive, point‐primitive 2‐ (v, k, 4) symmetric designs. We prove that if the socle of the automorphism group G of a flag‐transitive, point‐primitive nontrivial 2‐ (v, k, 4) symmetric design ?? is an alternating group A_n for n≥5, then (v, k) = (15, 8) and ?? is one of the following: (i) The points of ?? are those of the projective space PG(3, 2) and the blocks are the complements of the planes of PG(3, 2), G = A₇ or A₈, and the stabilizer G_x of a point x of ?? is L₃(2) or AGL₃(2), respectively. (ii) The points of ?? are the edges of the complete graph K₆ and the blocks are the complete bipartite subgraphs K_{2, 4} of K₆, G = A₆ or S₆, and G_x = S₄ or S₄ × Z₂, respectively. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Combin Designs 19:475‐483, 2011     

Upper bounds on the general covering number Cλ(v,k, t,m)

A collection of k‐subsets (called blocks) of a v‐set X (v) = {1, 2,…, v} (with elements called points) is called a t‐(v, k, m, λ) covering if for every m‐subset M of X (v) there is a subcollection of with such that every block K ∈ has at least t points in common with M. It is required that v ≥ k ≥ t and v ≥ m ≥ t. The minimum number of blocks in a t‐(v, k, m, λ) covering is denoted by C_λ(v, k, t, m). We present some constructions producing the best known upper bounds on C_λ(v, k, t, m) for k = 6, a parameter of interest to lottery players. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

The existence of uniform 5-GDDs

In this article, we construct group divisible designs (GDDs) with block size five, group-type g^u and index unity. The necessary condition for the existence of such a GDD is u ≷ 5, (u - 1)g ≡ 0 (mod 4) and u(u - 1)g² ≡ 0 (mod 20). It is shown that these necessary conditions are also sufficient, except possibly in a few cases. Additionally, a new construction to obtain GDDs using holey TDs is presented. © 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Combin Designs 5: 275–299, 1997     

Minimally (k,k)‐edge‐connected graphs

For an integer l > 1, the l‐edge‐connectivity of a connected graph with at least l vertices is the smallest number of edges whose removal results in a graph with l components. A connected graph G is (k, l)‐edge‐connected if the l‐edge‐connectivity of G is at least k. In this paper, we present a structural characterization of minimally (k, k)‐edge‐connected graphs. As a result, former characterizations of minimally (2, 2)‐edge‐connected graphs in [J of Graph Theory 3 (1979), 15–22] are extended. © 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Graph Theory 44: 116–131, 2003     

Nowhere‐zero 3‐flows in locally connected graphs

Let G be a graph. For each vertex v ∈V(G), N_v denotes the subgraph induces by the vertices adjacent to v in G. The graph G is locally k‐edge‐connected if for each vertex v ∈V(G), N_v is k‐edge‐connected. In this paper we study the existence of nowhere‐zero 3‐flows in locally k‐edge‐connected graphs. In particular, we show that every 2‐edge‐connected, locally 3‐edge‐connected graph admits a nowhere‐zero 3‐flow. This result is best possible in the sense that there exists an infinite family of 2‐edge‐connected, locally 2‐edge‐connected graphs each of which does not have a 3‐NZF. © 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Graph Theory 42: 211–219, 2003     

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.     

Splitting balanced incomplete block designs with block size 3 × 2

Splitting balanced incomplete block designs were first formulated by Ogata, Kurosawa, Stinson, and Saido recently in the investigation of authentication codes. This article investigates the existence of splitting balanced incomplete block designs, i.e., (v, 3k, λ)‐splitting BIBDs; we give the spectrum of (v, 3 × 2, λ)‐splitting BIBDs. As an application, we obtain an infinite class of 2‐splitting A‐codes. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Bounds and Constructions on (v, 4, 3, 2) Optical Orthogonal Codes

In this paper, we are concerned about optimal (v, 4, 3, 2)‐OOCs. A tight upper bound on the exact number of codewords of optimal (v, 4, 3, 2)‐OOCs and some direct and recursive constructions of optimal (v, 4, 3, 2)‐OOCs are given. As a result, the exact number of codewords of an optimal (v, 4, 3, 2)‐OOC is determined for some infinite series.