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Ian M. Wanless

Publications and source records attributed to Ian M. Wanless.

61 records · Page 4Linked to original sources
arXiv2014

Loops with exponent three in all isotopes

It was shown by van Rees \cite{vR} that a latin square of order $n$ has at most $n^2(n-1)/18$ latin subsquares of order $3$. He conjectured that this bound is only achieved if $n$ is a power of $3$. We show that it can only be achieved if $n\equiv3\bmod6$. We also state several conditions that are equivalent to achieving the van Rees bound. One of these is that the Cayley table of a loop achieves the van Rees bound if and only if every loop isotope has exponent $3$. We call such loops \emph{van Rees loops} and show that they form an equationally defined variety. We also show that (1) In a van Rees loop, any subloop of index 3 is normal, (2) There are exactly 6 nonassociative van Rees loops of order $27$ with a non-trivial nucleus and at least 1 with all nuclei trivial, (3) Every commutative van Rees loop has the weak inverse property and (4) For each van Rees loop there is an associated family of Steiner quasigroups.

math.GR↗
arXiv2014

Enumeration of MOLS of small order

We report the results of a computer investigation of sets of mutually orthogonal latin squares (MOLS) of small order. For $n\le9$ we 1. Determine the number of orthogonal mates for each species of latin square of order $n$. 2. Calculate the proportion of latin squares of order $n$ that have an orthogonal mate, and the expected number of mates when a square is chosen uniformly at random. 3. Classify all sets of MOLS of order $n$ up to various different notions of equivalence. We also provide a triple of latin squares of order 10 that is the closest to being a set of MOLS so far found.

math.CO↗
arXiv2012

On the Existence of Retransmission Permutation Arrays

We investigate retransmission permutation arrays (RPAs) that are motivated by applications in overlapping channel transmissions. An RPA is an $n\times n$ array in which each row is a permutation of ${1, ..., n}$, and for $1\leq i\leq n$, all $n$ symbols occur in each $i\times\lceil\frac{n}{i}\rceil$ rectangle in specified corners of the array. The array has types 1, 2, 3 and 4 if the stated property holds in the top left, top right, bottom left and bottom right corners, respectively. It is called latin if it is a latin square. We show that for all positive integers $n$, there exists a type-$1,2,3,4$ $\RPA(n)$ and a type-1,2 latin $\RPA(n)$.

math.CO↗
arXiv2009

On the number of Latin squares

We (1) determine the number of Latin rectangles with 11 columns and each possible number of rows, including the Latin squares of order~11, (2) answer some questions of Alter by showing that the number of reduced Latin squares of order $n$ is divisible by $f!$ where $f$ is a particular integer close to $\frac12n$, (3) provide a formula for the number of Latin squares in terms of permanents of $(+1,-1)$-matrices, (4) find the extremal values for the number of 1-factorisations of $k$-regular bipartite graphs on $2n$ vertices whenever $1\leq k\leq n\leq11$, (5) show that the proportion of Latin squares with a non-trivial symmetry group tends quickly to zero as the order increases.

math.CO↗
arXiv2009

Transversals in Latin Squares

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 or symbol. Transversals are closely related to the notions of complete mappings and orthomorphisms in (quasi)groups, and are fundamental to the concept of mutually orthogonal latin squares. Here we provide a brief survey of the literature on transversals. We cover (1) existence and enumeration results, (2) generalisations of transversals including partial transversals and plexes, (3) the special case when the latin square is a group table, (4) a connection with covering radii of sets of permutations. The survey includes a number of conjectures and open problems.

math.CO↗
arXiv2009

Latin trades in groups defined on planar triangulations

For a finite triangulation of the plane with faces properly coloured white and black, let A be the abelian group constructed by labelling the vertices with commuting indeterminates and adding relations which say that the labels around each white triangle add to the identity. We show that A has free rank exactly two. Let A* be the torsion subgroup of A, and B* the corresponding group for the black triangles. We show that A* and B* have the same order, and conjecture that they are isomorphic. For each spherical latin trade W, we show there is a unique disjoint mate B such that (W,B) is a connected and separated bitrade. The bitrade (W,B) is associated with a two-colourable planar triangulation and we show that W can be embedded in A*, thereby proving a conjecture due to Cavenagh and Drapal. The proof involves constructing a (0,1) presentation matrix whose permanent and determinant agree up to sign. The Smith Normal Form of this matrix determines A*, so there is an efficient algorithm to construct the embedding. Contrasting with the spherical case, for each genus g>0 we construct a latin trade which is not embeddable in any group and another that is embeddable in a cyclic group. We construct a sequence of spherical latin trades which cannot be embedded in any family of abelian groups whose torsion ranks are bounded. Also, we show that any trade that can be embedded in a finitely generated abelian group can be embedded in a finite abelian group. As a corollary, no trade can be embedded in a free abelian group.

math.CO↗