Greco-Latin squares as bijections

A Latin square of order n is an n-by-n array of n symbols, which we take to be the integers 0 to n-1, such that no symbol is repeated in any row or column. Two Latin squares of the same order are orthogonal if, when overlapped, no ordered pair of symbols occurs more than once. Equivalently, the Latin squares together form a bijection on the set of n-squared coordinates. In this thesis the question of what this bijection is in terms of projective planes is investigated. The major result here is a new necessary and sufficient condition such that two ternary rings correspond to the same plane

A new structure for difference matrices over abelian pp-groups

A difference matrix over a group is a discrete structure that is intimately related to many other combinatorial designs, including mutually orthogonal Latin squares, orthogonal arrays, and transversal designs. Interest in constructing difference matrices over $2$-groups has been renewed by the recent discovery that these matrices can be used to construct large linking systems of difference sets, which in turn provide examples of systems of linked symmetric designs and association schemes. We survey the main constructive and nonexistence results for difference matrices, beginning with a classical construction based on the properties of a finite field. We then introduce the concept of a contracted difference matrix, which generates a much larger difference matrix. We show that several of the main constructive results for difference matrices over abelian $p$-groups can be substantially simplified and extended using contracted difference matrices. In particular, we obtain new linking systems of difference sets of size $7$ in infinite families of abelian $2$-groups, whereas previously the largest known size was $3$.Comment: 27 pages. Discussion of new reference [LT04

P℘\wpN functions, complete mappings and quasigroup difference sets

We investigate pairs of permutations $F,G$ of $\mathbb{F}_{p^n}$ such that $F(x+a)-G(x)$ is a permutation for every $a\in\mathbb{F}_{p^n}$. We show that necessarily $G(x) = \wp(F(x))$ for some complete mapping $-\wp$ of $\mathbb{F}_{p^n}$, and call the permutation $F$ a perfect $\wp$ nonlinear (P$\wp$N) function. If $\wp(x) = cx$, then $F$ is a PcN function, which have been considered in the literature, lately. With a binary operation on $\mathbb{F}_{p^n}\times\mathbb{F}_{p^n}$ involving $\wp$, we obtain a quasigroup, and show that the graph of a P$\wp$N function $F$ is a difference set in the respective quasigroup. We further point to variants of symmetric designs obtained from such quasigroup difference sets. Finally, we analyze an equivalence (naturally defined via the automorphism group of the respective quasigroup) for P$\wp$N functions, respectively, the difference sets in the corresponding quasigroup

Good Random Matrices over Finite Fields

The random matrix uniformly distributed over the set of all m-by-n matrices over a finite field plays an important role in many branches of information theory. In this paper a generalization of this random matrix, called k-good random matrices, is studied. It is shown that a k-good random m-by-n matrix with a distribution of minimum support size is uniformly distributed over a maximum-rank-distance (MRD) code of minimum rank distance min{m,n}-k+1, and vice versa. Further examples of k-good random matrices are derived from homogeneous weights on matrix modules. Several applications of k-good random matrices are given, establishing links with some well-known combinatorial problems. Finally, the related combinatorial concept of a k-dense set of m-by-n matrices is studied, identifying such sets as blocking sets with respect to (m-k)-dimensional flats in a certain m-by-n matrix geometry and determining their minimum size in special cases.Comment: 25 pages, publishe

Some Proposed Problems on Permutation Polynomials over Finite Fields

From the 19th century, the theory of permutation polynomial over finite fields, that are arose in the work of Hermite and Dickson, has drawn general attention. Permutation polynomials over finite fields are an active area of research due to their rising applications in mathematics and engineering. The last three decades has seen rapid progress on the research on permutation polynomials due to their diverse applications in cryptography, coding theory, finite geometry, combinatorics and many more areas of mathematics and engineering. For this reason, the study of permutation polynomials is important nowadays. In this chapter, we propose some new problems in connection to permutation polynomials over finite fields by the help of prime numbers

Permutation polynomials and systems of permutation polynomials in several variables over finite rings

This paper will present the historical development of theorems regarding permutation polynomials in several variables over finite fields. Single variable permutation polynomials will be discussed since they are so important to the discussions which will follow. Theorems involving permutation polynomials and systems of permutation polynomials will also be considered. It will be shown that many of the interesting results obtained for finite fields can be generalized to finite rings

Connectivity of some Algebraically Defined Digraphs

Let p be a prime, e a positive integer, q = pe, and ��q denote the finite field of q elements. Let fi : ��2q → ��q be arbitrary functions, where 1 ≤ i ≤1, i and l are integers. The digraph D = D(q:f), where f = f ,..., f l): ��2q → ��lq, is defined as follows. The vertex of D is ��l+1q. There is an arc from a vertex x = (x1,...xl+1) to a vertex y = (y1,...yl+1) if xi + yi = f i-l(x1, y1) for all i, 2 ≤ i ≤ l + 1. In this paper we study the strong connectivity of D and completely describe its strong components. The digraphs D are directed analogues of some algebraically defined graphs, which have been studied extensively and have many applications