Related papers: Embedding partial Latin squares in Latin squares w…

A $d$-dimensional Latin hypercube of order $n$ is a $d$-dimensional array containing symbols from a set of cardinality $n$ with the property that every axis-parallel line contains all $n$ symbols exactly once. We show that for $(n, d)…

Given an integer partition $P = (h_1h_2\dots h_k)$ of $n$, a realization of $P$ is a latin square with disjoint subsquares of orders $h_1,h_2,\dots,h_k$. Most known results restrict either $k$ or the number of different integers in $P$.…

Mutually orthogonal frequency squares (MOFS) of type $F(m\lambda;\lambda)$ generalize the structure of mutually orthogonal Latin squares: rather than each of $m$ symbols appearing exactly once in each row and in each column of each square,…

Consider a subset [1,2,...,n]x[1,2,...,n] of the plane integer lattice. Take any non self-intersecting n^2-gon built on it (straight angles are allowed). The square of a side length is a positive integer. It is thus natural to ask how large…

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…

Ever since E. T. Parker constructed an orthogonal pair of $10\times10$ Latin squares in 1959, an orthogonal triple of $10\times10$ Latin squares has been one of the most sought-after combinatorial designs. Despite extensive work, the…

Suppose that $k$ is a function of $n$ and $n\to\infty$. We show that with probability $1-O(1/n)$, a uniformly random $k\times n$ Latin rectangle contains no proper Latin subsquare of order $4$ or more, proving a conjecture of Divoux, Kelly,…

To get another from a given latin square, we have to change at least 4 entries. We show how to find these entries and how to change them.

A partial Latin square of order $n$ can be represented by a $3$-dimensional chess-board of size $n\times n\times n$ with at most $n^2$ non-attacking rooks. In Latin squares, a subsystem and its most distant mate together have as many rooks…

Latin squares are well studied combinatorial objects. In this paper we generalize the concept and propose new objects like Latin triangles, free Latin squares, Latin tetrahedra, free Latin cubes, etc. We start with a classic definition of…

Latin squares are $n\times n$ matrices containing $n$ symbols, where each symbol appears exactly once in each row and column. They were studied by Euler, later popularized through Sudoku, and remain a rich source of difficult combinatorial…

A latin square of order $n$ with pairwise disjoint subsquares of orders $h_1,\dots,h_k$ such that $h_1+\dots+h_k = n$ is known as a realization. The existence of realizations is a partially solved problem with a few general results for an…

A Latin hypercuboid of order $n$ is a $d$-dimensional matrix of dimensions $n\times n\times\cdots\times n\times k$, with symbols from a set of cardinality $n$ such that each symbol occurs at most once in each axis-parallel line. If $k=n$…

A classical question in combinatorics is the following:\ given a partial Latin square $P$, when can we complete $P$ to a Latin square $L$? In this paper, we investigate the class of \textbf{$\epsilon$-dense partial Latin squares}:\ partial…

We suggest and explore a matroidal version of the Brualdi - Ryser conjecture about Latin squares. We prove that any $n\times n$ matrix, whose rows and columns are bases of a matroid, has an independent partial transversal of length…

Symmetries of a partial Latin square are determined by its autotopism group. Analogously to the case of Latin squares, given an isotopism $\Theta$, the cardinality of the set $\mathcal{PLS}_{\Theta}$ of partial Latin squares which are…

Given two integers $m$ and $n$ with $m\leq n$, a Latin rectangle of size $m\times n$ is a bi-dimensional array with $m$ rows and $n$ columns filled with symbols from an alphabet with $n$ symbols, such that each row contains a permutation 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. The cardinality of the largest critical…

Given an integer partition $(h_1,h_2,\dots,h_k)$ of $n$, is it possible to find an order $n$ latin square with $k$ disjoint subsquares of orders $h_1,\dots,h_k$? This question was posed by L.Fuchs and is only partially solved. Existence has…

Let $m \leq n \leq k$. An $m \times n \times k$ 0-1 array is a Latin box if it contains exactly $mn$ ones, and has at most one $1$ in each line. As a special case, Latin boxes in which $m = n = k$ are equivalent to Latin squares. Let…