Directed packings with block size 5 and even \(v\) (Q1894276)

Let \(v\) and \(k\) be positive integers. A transitively ordered \(k\)-tuple \((a_1, a_2,\dots, a_k)\) is defined to be the set \(\{(a_i, a_j): 1\leq i< j\leq k\}\) consisting of \(k(k- 1)/2\) ordered pairs. A directed packing with parameters \(v\), \(k\) and index \(\lambda= 1\), denoted by \(\text{DP}(k, 1; v)\), is a pair \((X, \mathbb{A})\), where \(X\) is a \(v\)-set of points and \(\mathbb{A}\) is a collection of transitively ordered \(k\)-tuples of \(X\) called blocks such that every ordered pair of distinct points of \(X\) occurs in at most one block of \(\mathbb{A}\). The greatest number of blocks required in a \(\text{DP}(k, 1; v)\) is called packing number and denoted by \(\text{DD}(k, 1; v)\). In graph theoretic terms, a \(\text{DP}(k, 1; v)\) is equivalent to the decomposition of the complete symmetric directed graph \(K^*_v\) into transitive directed subgraphs on \(k\) vertices (tournaments of order \(k\)), in which some arcs of \(K^*_v\) are not used. The main problem asks for the maximum number of subgraphs, i.e. \(\text{DD}(k, 1; v)\), in such a decomposition. The determination of the function \(\text{DD}(k, 1; v)\) has a rich history. It is shown in this paper that \(\text{DD}(5, 1; v)= \lfloor(v/2) \lfloor\{2(v- 1)/4\}\rfloor\rfloor\) for all even integers \(v\), where \(\lfloor x \rfloor\) is the floor of \(x\). This employs both direct and recursive methods of construction to determine the values of \(\text{DD}(5, 1; v)\) for all even \(v\).