Completion and deficiency problems

Given a partial Steiner triple system (STS) of order $n$, what is the order of the smallest complete STS it can be embedded into? The study of this question goes back more than 40 years. In this paper we answer it for relatively sparse STSs, showing that given a partial STS of order $n$ with at most $r \le \varepsilon n^2$ triples, it can always be embedded into a complete STS of order $n+O(\sqrt{r})$, which is asymptotically optimal. We also obtain similar results for completions of Latin squares and other designs. This suggests a new, natural class of questions, called deficiency problems. Given a global spanning property $\mathcal{P}$ and a graph $G$, we define the deficiency of the graph $G$ with respect to the property $\mathcal{P}$ to be the smallest positive integer $t$ such that the join $G\ast K_t$ has property $\mathcal{P}$. To illustrate this concept we consider deficiency versions of some well-studied properties, such as having a $K_k$-decomposition, Hamiltonicity, having a triangle-factor and having a perfect matching in hypergraphs. The main goal of this paper is to propose a systematic study of these problems; thus several future research directions are also given

On the Chromatic Thresholds of Hypergraphs

Let F be a family of r-uniform hypergraphs. The chromatic threshold of F is the infimum of all non-negative reals c such that the subfamily of F comprising hypergraphs H with minimum degree at least $c \binom{|V(H)|}{r-1}$ has bounded chromatic number. This parameter has a long history for graphs (r=2), and in this paper we begin its systematic study for hypergraphs. {\L}uczak and Thomass\'e recently proved that the chromatic threshold of the so-called near bipartite graphs is zero, and our main contribution is to generalize this result to r-uniform hypergraphs. For this class of hypergraphs, we also show that the exact Tur\'an number is achieved uniquely by the complete (r+1)-partite hypergraph with nearly equal part sizes. This is one of very few infinite families of nondegenerate hypergraphs whose Tur\'an number is determined exactly. In an attempt to generalize Thomassen's result that the chromatic threshold of triangle-free graphs is 1/3, we prove bounds for the chromatic threshold of the family of 3-uniform hypergraphs not containing {abc, abd, cde}, the so-called generalized triangle. In order to prove upper bounds we introduce the concept of fiber bundles, which can be thought of as a hypergraph analogue of directed graphs. This leads to the notion of fiber bundle dimension, a structural property of fiber bundles that is based on the idea of Vapnik-Chervonenkis dimension in hypergraphs. Our lower bounds follow from explicit constructions, many of which use a hypergraph analogue of the Kneser graph. Using methods from extremal set theory, we prove that these Kneser hypergraphs have unbounded chromatic number. This generalizes a result of Szemer\'edi for graphs and might be of independent interest. Many open problems remain.Comment: 37 pages, 4 figure

Configurations and colouring problems in block designs

A Steiner triple system of order v (STS(v)) is called x-chromatic if x is the smallest number of colours needed to avoid monochromatic blocks. Amongst our results on colour class structures we show that every STS (19) is 3- or 4-chromatic, that every 3-chromatic STS(19) has an equitable 3-colouring (meaning that the colours are as uniformly distributed as possible), and that for all admissible v > 25 there exists a 3-chromatic STS(v) which does not admit an equitable 3-colouring. We obtain a formula for the number of independent sets in an STS(v) and use it to show that an STS(21) must contain eight independent points. This leads to a simple proof that every STS(21) is 3- or 4-chromatic. Substantially extending existing tabulations, we provide an enumeration of STS trades of up to 12 blocks, and as an application we show that any pair of STS(15)s must be 3-1-isomorphic. We prove a general theorem that enables us to obtain formulae for the frequencies of occurrence of configurations in triple systems. Some of these are used in our proof that for v > 25 no STS(u) has a 3-existentially closed block intersection graph. Of specific interest in connection with a conjecture of Erdos are 6-sparse and perfect Steiner triple systems, characterized by the avoidance of specific configurations. We describe two direct constructions that produce 6-sparse STS(v)s and we give a recursive construction that preserves 6-sparseness. Also we settle an old question concerning the occurrence of perfect block transitive Steiner triple systems. Finally, we consider Steiner 5(2,4, v) designs that are built from collections of Steiner triple systems. We solve a longstanding problem by constructing such systems with v = 61 (Zoe’s design) and v = 100 (the design of the century)