On generalized Steiner systems and semi-biplanes (Q1060416)

An incidence structure \(S=(P,B)\) is called an homogeneous 3-(v,\(\{\) 4,6\(\}\),1) generalized Steiner system if the following conditions are satisfied: (i) blocks have size 4 or 6, (ii) any three distinct points are contained in exactly one block, (iii) both the collection of 4- subsets and the collection of 6-subsets form 1-designs, and (iv) \(| P| =v\) and there are exactly v blocks of size 6. The search for all possible homogeneous 3-(20,\(\{\) 4,6\(\}\),1) generalized Steiner systems does not seem to be within the scope of present-day computers. However, the author has discovered, with the aid of a computer, all possible homogeneous 3-(20,\(\{\) 4,6\(\}\),1) generalized Steiner systems whose 1-(20,6,6) design is a semi-biplane: there exist precisely two such systems which are both new. Here the author uses a result of P. Wild establishing the existence of exactly two semi-biplanes on 20 points.