A survey of partial difference sets (Q1329113)

Let \(G\) be a finite group of order \(v\). A \(k\)-element subset \(D\) of \(G\) is called a \((v,k,\lambda,\mu)\)-partial difference set if the expressions \(gh^{-1}\), for \(g\) and \(h\) in \(D\) with \(g\neq h\), represent each nonidentity element in \(D\) exactly \(\lambda\) times and each nonidentity element not in \(D\) exactly \(\mu\) times. If \(e\not\in D\) and \(g\in D\) iff \(g^{-1}\in D\), then \(D\) is essentially the same as a strongly regular Cayley graph. The aim of the survey is to list all important existence and nonexistence results concerning partial difference sets. In particular, various construction methods are studied, e.g., constructions using partial congruence partitions, quadratic forms, cyclotomic classes and finite local rings. Also, the relations with Schur rings, two-weight codes, projective sets, difference sets, reversible difference sets and partial geometries are discussed in detail. In the final section a list is given containing all possible parameter sets \((v,k,\lambda,\mu)\) for which nontrivial abelian regular partial difference sets may exist with \(k\leq 100\). The list gives constructions and refers to several examples in the paper or to nonexistence results. For 32 of the 187 parameter sets existence is unknown. There is a list of 100 references (including 22 papers published since 1990).