Related papers: Covers and partial transversals of Latin squares

A partial transversal $T$ of a Latin square $L$ is a set of entries of $L$ in which each row, column and symbol is represented at most once. A partial transversal is maximal if it is not contained in a larger partial transversal. Any…

A latin square of order $n$ is an $n\times n$ array of $n$ symbols in which each symbol occurs exactly once in each row and column. A transversal of such a square is a set of $n$ entries such that no two entries share the same row, column…

A Latin square is an $n$ by $n$ grid filled with $n$ symbols so that each symbol appears exactly once in each row and each column. A transversal in a Latin square is a collection of cells which do not share any row, column, or symbol. This…

A Latin array is a matrix of symbols in which no symbol occurs more than once within a row or within a column. A diagonal of an $n\times n$ array is a selection of $n$ cells taken from different rows and columns of the array. The weight of…

A critical set in an $n \times n$ array is a set $C$ of given entries, such that there exists a unique extension of $C$ to an $n\times n$ Latin square and no proper subset of $C$ has this property. For a Latin square $L$, $\scs{L}$ denotes…

Let m and n be integers, $2 \leq m \leq n$. An m by n array consists of mn cells, arranged in m rows and n columns, and each cell contains exactly one symbol. A transversal of an array consists of m cells, one from each row and no two from…

We prove that, for all even $n\geq10$, there exists a latin square of order $n$ with at least one transversal, yet all transversals coincide on $ \big\lfloor n/6 \big\rfloor$ entries. These latin squares have at least $ 19 n^2/36 + O(n)$…

An array is row-Latin if no symbol is repeated within any row. An array is Latin if it and its transpose are both row-Latin. A transversal in an $n\times n$ array is a selection of $n$ different symbols from different rows and different…

In this note we show that for each Latin square $L$ of order $n\geq 2$, there exists a Latin square $L'\neq L$ of order $n$ such that $L$ and $L'$ differ in at most $8\sqrt{n}$ cells. Equivalently, each Latin square of order $n$ contains a…

A $k$-plex in a latin square of order $n$ is a selection of $kn$ entries that includes $k$ representatives from each row and column and $k$ occurrences of each symbol. A $1$-plex is also known as a transversal. It is well known that if $n$…

A transversal in an $n \times n$ latin square is a collection of $n$ entries not repeating any row, column, or symbol. Kwan showed that almost every $n \times n$ latin square has $\bigl((1 + o(1)) n / e^2\bigr)^n$ transversals as $n \to…

Consider a partial Latin square $P$ where the first two rows and first three columns are completely filled, and every other cell of $P$ is empty. It has been conjectured that all such partial Latin squares of order at least $8$ are…

It is shown that if $F$ denotes the number of filled cells in a superimposed pair of maximal orthogonal partial Latin squares of order $n$, then $F\ge n^2/3$. This resolves a conjecture raised in an earlier paper by the current authors. It…

A critical set in an $n \times n$ array is a set $C$ of given entries, such that there exists a unique extension of $C$ to an $n\times n$ Latin square and no proper subset of $C$ has this property. The cardinality of the largest critical…

In a latin square of order $n$, a near transversal is a collection of $n-1$ cells which intersects each row, column, and symbol class at most once. A longstanding conjecture of Brualdi, Ryser, and Stein asserts that every latin square…

A (partial) Latin square is a table of multiplication of a (partial) quasigroup. Multiplication of a (partial) quasigroup may be considered as a set of triples. We give a necessary and sufficient condition when a set of triples is a…

A $k \times n$ partial Latin rectangle is \textit{$C$-sparse} if the number of nonempty entries in each row and column is at most $C$ and each symbol is used at most $C$ times. We prove that the probability a uniformly random $k \times n$…

We are seeking a sufficient condition that forces a transversal in a generalized Latin square. A generalized Latin square of order $n$ is equivalent to a proper edge-coloring of $K_{n,n}$. A transversal corresponds to a multicolored perfect…

A defining set of a Latin square is a partially filled-in Latin square which completes to no other Latin square of the same order. We introduce the concept of a $k$-strong defining set, in which if less than $k$ entries are deleted, the…

The logarithm of the maximum number of transversals over all latin squares of order $n$ is greater than $\frac{n}{6}(\ln n+ O(1))$.