New constructions for covering designs

A $(v,k,t)$ {\em covering design}, or {\em covering}, is a family of $k$-subsets, called blocks, chosen from a $v$-set, such that each $t$-subset is contained in at least one of the blocks. The number of blocks is the covering's {\em size}, and the minimum size of such a covering is denoted by $C(v,k,t)$. This paper gives three new methods for constructing good coverings: a greedy algorithm similar to Conway and Sloane's algorithm for lexicographic codes~\cite{lex}, and two methods that synthesize new coverings from preexisting ones. Using these new methods, together with results in the literature, we build tables of upper bounds on $C(v,k,t)$ for $v \leq 32$, $k \leq 16$, and $t \leq 8$.

Depth of cohomology support loci for quasi-projective varieties via orbifold pencils

The present paper describes a relation between the quotient of the fundamental group of a smooth quasi-projective variety by its second commutator and the existence of maps to orbifold curves. It extends previously studied cases when the target was a smooth curve. In the case when the quasi-projective variety is a complement to a plane algebraic curve this provides new relations between the fundamental group, the equation of the curve, and the existence of polynomial solutions to certain equations generalizing Pell's equation. These relations are formulated in terms of the depth which is an invariant of the characters of the fundamental group discussed in detail here.Comment: 22 page

Stacks of cyclic covers of projective spaces

We define stacks of uniform cyclic covers of Brauer-Severi schemes, proving that they can be realized as quotient stacks of open subsets of representations, and compute the Picard group for the open substacks parametrizing smooth uniform cyclic covers. Moreover, we give an analogous description for stacks parametrizing triple cyclic covers of Brauer-Severi schemes of rank 1, which are not necessarily uniform, and give a presentation of the Picard group for substacks corresponding to smooth triple cyclic covers.Comment: 23 pages; some minor changes; to appear in Compositio Mathematic

Smoothness of the truncated display functor

We show that to every p-divisible group over a p-adic ring one can associate a display by crystalline Dieudonne theory. For an appropriate notion of truncated displays, this induces a functor from truncated Barsotti-Tate groups to truncated displays, which is a smooth morphism of smooth algebraic stacks. As an application we obtain a new proof of the equivalence between infinitesimal p-divisible groups and nilpotent displays over p-adic rings, and a new proof of the equivalence due to Berthelot and Gabber between commutative finite flat group schemes of p-power order and Dieudonne modules over perfect rings.Comment: 38 page

Dimers, Tilings and Trees

Generalizing results of Temperley, Brooks, Smith, Stone and Tutte and others we describe a natural equivalence between three planar objects: weighted bipartite planar graphs; planar Markov chains; and tilings with convex polygons. This equivalence provides a measure-preserving bijection between dimer coverings of a weighted bipartite planar graph and spanning trees on the corresponding Markov chain. The tilings correspond to harmonic functions on the Markov chain and to ``discrete analytic functions'' on the bipartite graph. The equivalence is extended to infinite periodic graphs, and we classify the resulting ``almost periodic'' tilings and harmonic functions.Comment: 23 pages, 5 figure