Algorithms for difference families in finite abelian groups

In this paper we prove that an abelian group contains $(2^{2m+1}(2^{m-1}+1), 2^m(2^m+1), 2^m)$-difference sets with $m\geqslant 3$ if and only if it contains an elementary abelian 2-group of order $2^{2m}$. Our proof shows that the method of constructing such difference sets is essentially unique.

Suppose that $A$ is a finite, nonempty subset of a cyclic group of either infinite or prime order. We show that if the difference set $A-A$ is ``not too large'', then there is a nonzero group element with at least as many as $(2+o(1))|A|^2/|A-A|$ representations as a difference of two elements of $A$; that is, the second largest number of representations is, essentially, twice the average. Here the coefficient $2$ is the best possible. We also prove continuous and multidime...

In this paper, six constructions of difference families are presented. These constructions make use of difference sets, almost difference sets and disjoint difference families, and give new point of views of relationships among these combinatorial objects. Most of the constructions work for all finite groups. Though these constructions look simple, they produce many difference families with new parameters. In addition to the six new constructions, new results about intersecti...

In this paper we prove that if there is a regular Paley type partial difference set in an Abelian group $G$ of order $v$, where $v=p_1^{2k_1}p_2^{2k_2}\cdots p_n^{2k_n}$, $n\ge 2$, $p_1$, $p_2$, $\cdots$, $p_n$ are distinct odd prime numbers, then for any $1 \le i \le n$, $p_i$ is congruent to 3 modulo 4 whenever $k_i$ is odd. These new necessary conditions further limit the specific order of an Abelian group $G$ in which there can exist a Paley type partial difference set. O...

We describe general connections between intersective properties of sets in Abelian groups and positive exponential sums. In particular, given a set $A$ the maximal size of a set whose difference set avoids $A$ will be related to positive exponential sums using frequencies from $A$.

A $(G,[k_1,\dots,k_t],\lambda)$ {\it partitioned difference family} (PDF) is a partition $\cal B$ of an additive group $G$ into sets ({\it blocks}) of sizes $k_1$, \dots, $k_t$, such that the list of differences of ${\cal B}$ covers exactly $\lambda$ times every non-zero element of $G$. It is called {\it Hadamard} (HPDF) if the order of $G$ is $2\lambda$. The study of HPDFs is motivated by the fact that each of them gives rise, recursively, to infinitely many other PDFs. Apar...

A subset $B$ of a group $G$ is called a difference basis of $G$ if each element $g\in G$ can be written as the difference $g=ab^{-1}$ of some elements $a,b\in B$. The smallest cardinality $|B|$ of a difference basis $B\subset G$ is called the difference size of $G$ and is denoted by $\Delta[G]$. The fraction $\eth[G]:=\frac{\Delta[G]}{\sqrt{|G|}}$ is called the difference characteristic of $G$. Using properies of the Galois rings, we prove recursive upper bounds for the diffe...

A packing of partial difference sets is a collection of disjoint partial difference sets in a finite group $G$. This configuration has received considerable attention in design theory, finite geometry, coding theory, and graph theory over many years, although often only implicitly. We consider packings of certain Latin square type partial difference sets in abelian groups having identical parameters, the size of the collection being either the maximum possible or one smaller....

The main goal of this paper is to apply the arithmetic method developed in our previous paper \cite{13} to determine the number of some types of subgroups of finite abelian groups.

The power graph and the enhanced power graph of a group $\mathbf G$ are simple graphs with vertex set $G$; two elements of $G$ are adjacent in the power graph if one of them is a power of the other, and they are adjacent in the enhanced power graph if they generate a cyclic subgroup. The difference graph of a group $\mathbf G$, denoted by $\mathcal D(\mathbf G)$, is the difference of the enhanced power graph and the power graph of group $\mathbf G$ with all the isolated verti...