On some remarkable properties of the two-dimensional Hammersley point set in base 2 (Q2433586)

Let \(H=\{\mathbf{x}_0, \ldots , \mathbf{x}_{2^m-1}\}\) be the \((0,m,2)\)-Hammersley net over \(\mathbb{Z}_2\), where \(\mathbb{Z}_2\) is the finite field with two elements. Let \(Y=\{\mathbf{y}_0, \ldots , \mathbf{y}_{2^m-1}\}\) be the net that is obtained by shifting a fixed digital \((0,m,2)\)-net over \(\mathbb{Z}_2\) in the second coordinate by an arbitrary vector \(\vec{\sigma}\) in \(\mathbb{Z}_2^m\). The author proves that \[ D_N^*(Y)\leq D_N^*(H)=\left(\frac m3 + \frac {13}9 - (-1)^m\cdot \frac{4}{9\cdot 2^m}\right)2^{-m}, \] where \(N=2^m\) and \(D_N^*\) is the star discrepancy. This result improves an upper bound for the star discrepancy of digital \((0,m,2)\)-nets over \(\mathbb{Z}_2\) by \textit{G. Larcher} and \textit{F. Pillichshammer} [Acta Arith. 106, No. 4, 379--408 (2003; Zbl 1054.11039)]. This result also implies that any digital \(m\)-bit shift applied to \(H\) cannot have negative effects on the star discrepancy. In fact, it is shown that any digital shift different from \(\vec{0}\) of the Hammersley net results in a real improvement of the star discrepancy. Furthermore, the author shows that nets with very low star discrepancy can be obtained by transforming the Hammersley point set in a suitable way.