Design Lines

The two basic equations satisfied by the parameters of a block design define a three-dimensional affine variety $\mathcal{D}$ in $\mathbb{R}^{5}$. A point of $\mathcal{D}$ that is not in some sense trivial lies on four lines lying in $\mathcal{D}$. These lines provide a degree of organization for certain general classes of designs, and the paper is devoted to exploring properties of the lines. Several examples of families of designs that seem naturally to follow the lines are presented.Comment: 16 page

Classification of generalized Hadamard matrices H(6,3) and quaternary Hermitian self-dual codes of length 18

All generalized Hadamard matrices of order 18 over a group of order 3, H(6,3), are enumerated in two different ways: once, as class regular symmetric (6,3)-nets, or symmetric transversal designs on 54 points and 54 blocks with a group of order 3 acting semi-regularly on points and blocks, and secondly, as collections of full weight vectors in quaternary Hermitian self-dual codes of length 18. The second enumeration is based on the classification of Hermitian self-dual [18,9] codes over GF(4), completed in this paper. It is shown that up to monomial equivalence, there are 85 generalized Hadamard matrices H(6,3), and 245 inequivalent Hermitian self-dual codes of length 18 over GF(4).Comment: 17 pages. Minor revisio