Related papers: Nonsequenceable Steiner triple systems

A partial Steiner triple system of order n is sequenceable if there is a sequence of length n of its distinct points such that no proper segment of the sequence is a union of point-disjoint blocks. We prove that if a partial Steiner triple…

An l-good sequencing of a Steiner triple system of order v, STS(v), is a permutation of the points of the system such that no l consecutive points in the permutation contains a block. It is known that every STS(v) with v > 3 has a 3-good…

In the paper we study the structure of hyperplanes of so called binomial partial Steiner triple systems (BSTS's, in short) i.e. of configurations with $\binom{n}{2}$ points and $\binom{n}{3}$ lines, each line of the size $3$. Consequently,…

A partial $(n,k,t)_\lambda$-system is a pair $(X,\mathcal{B})$ where $X$ is an $n$-set of vertices and $\mathcal{B}$ is a collection of $k$-subsets of $X$ called blocks such that each $t$-set of vertices is a subset of at most $\lambda$…

An $\ell$-good sequencing of an STS$(v)$ is a permutation of the points of the design such that no $\ell$ consecutive points in this permutation contain a block of the design. We prove that, for every integer $\ell \geq 3$, there is an…

Given an STS(v), we ask if there is a permutation of the points of the design such that no $\ell$ consecutive points in this permutation contain a block of the design. Results are obtained in the cases $\ell = 3,4$.

We propose a new approach to studies on partial Steiner triple systems consisting in determining complete graphs contained in them. We establish the structure which complete graphs yield in a minimal PSTS that contains them. As a by-product…

We show that for any n divisible by 3, almost all order-n Steiner triple systems admit a decomposition of almost all their triples into disjoint perfect matchings (that is, almost all Steiner triple systems are almost resolvable).

For $v\equiv 1$ or 3 (mod 6), maximum partial triple systems on $v$ points are Steiner triple systems, STS($v$)s. The 80 non-isomorphic STS(15)s were first enumerated around 100 years ago, but the next case for Steiner triple systems was…

A partial Steiner triple system of order $u$ is a pair $(U,\mathcal{A})$ where $U$ is a set of $u$ elements and $\mathcal{A}$ is a set of triples of elements of $U$ such that any two elements of $U$ occur together in at most one triple. If…

The $p$-rank of a Steiner triple system $B$ is the dimension of the linear span of the set of characteristic vectors of blocks of $B$, over GF$(p)$. We derive a formula for the number of different Steiner triple systems of order $v$ and…

Let $X$ be a $v$-set, $\B$ a set of 3-subsets (triples) of $X$, and $\B^+\cup\B^-$ a partition of $\B$ with $|\B^-|=s$. The pair $(X,\B)$ is called a simple signed Steiner triple system, denoted by ST$(v,s)$, if the number of occurrences of…

A subset of an abelian group is {\em sequenceable} if there is an ordering $(x_1, \ldots, x_k)$ of its elements such that the partial sums $(y_0, y_1, \ldots, y_k)$, given by $y_0 = 0$ and $y_i = \sum_{j=1}^i x_i$ for $1 \leq i \leq k$, are…

We prove that with high probability $\mathbb{G}^{(3)}(n,n^{-1+o(1)})$ contains a spanning Steiner triple system for $n\equiv 1,3\pmod{6}$, establishing the exponent for the threshold probability for existence of a Steiner triple system. We…

Let STS(n) denote the number of Steiner triple systems on n vertices, and let F(n) denote the number of 1-factorizations of the complete graph on n vertices. We prove the following upper bound. STS(n) <= ((1 + o(1)) (n/e^2))^(n^2/6) F(n) <=…

In 1973 Erdos asked whether there are n-vertex partial Steiner triple systems with arbitrary high girth and quadratically many triples. (Here girth is defined as the smallest integer g \ge 4 for which some g-element vertex-set contains at…

A Steiner triple system, STS$(v)$, is a family of $3$-subsets (blocks) of a set of $v$ elements such that any two elements occur together in precisely one block. A collection of triples consisting of two copies of each block of an STS is…

We construct Steiner triple systems without parallel classes for an infinite number of orders congruent to $3 \pmod{6}$. The only previously known examples have order $15$ or $21$.

The smallest open case for classifying Steiner triple systems is order 21. A Steiner triple system of order 21, an STS(21), can have subsystems of orders 7 and 9, and it is known that there are 12,661,527,336 isomorphism classes of STS(21)s…

A famous theorem of Kirkman says that there exists a Steiner triple system of order $n$ if and only if $n\equiv 1,3\mod{6}$. In 1973, Erd\H{o}s conjectured that one can find so-called `sparse' Steiner triple systems. Roughly speaking, the…