Subsets of association schemes corresponding to eigenvectors of the Bose-Mesner algebra (Q1281138)

Given a group \(G\) operating as a permutation group on a set \(X\), which are the pairs of subsets \(M, M' \subseteq X\) such that \(|M \cap gM' |= c\) for a constant \(c\) and all \(g \in G\)? In this paper the author characterizes these pairs in terms of eigenspaces of the corresponding Bose-Mesner association scheme. More precisely, it is proved that: Theorem. Let (\(G,X\)) be a rank \(d+1\) permutation group. Let \(M,M'\) be subsets of \(X\) with characteristic vectors \(v,w\). Let \(v = v_0 + \cdots + v_d\) and \(w = w_0 + \cdots + w_d\) be the decompositions of \(v,w\) into eigenvectors of the Bose-Mesner algebra \(\mathcal A\) (i.e., \(v_i, w_i\) are elements of the eigenspace \(V_i\), where \(V_0 = \langle 1 \rangle\)). Then the following statements are equivalent: (a) There is a real constant \(c\) such that \(|M \cap gM' |= c\) for all \(g \in G\). (b) For each \(i \in \{ 1, \ldots, d \} \) one of the vectors \(v_i, w_i\) is equal to zero. This result is used to provide an answer to the geometric question: Which are the sets of \(t\)-dimensional subspaces of \(PG(k(t+1)-1,q)\) having the same number of elements in common with every \(t\)-spread? (Here a \(t\)-spread is a set of \(t\)-dimensional subspaces partitioning the point set).