Some upper bounds for composition numbers (Q2565258)

It is known that a formula of the type \[ (x^2_1+ \cdots+ x^2_r) (y^2_1+ \cdots+ y^2_s)= z^2_1+ \cdots+ z^2_t \tag{1} \] \(z_i\) bilinear in the \(x_j\), \(y_k\) with integer coefficients, \(t\) minimal, exists iff a consistantly signed intercalate matrix of type \([r,s,t]\) exists. The minimum \(t\) in (1) is denoted by \(r*_\mathbb{Z} s\). These numbers have been determined for \(r,s\leq 16\). In the present paper, the author gives upper bounds for \(r*_\mathbb{Z} s\) in the range \(r,s\leq 32\) and even beyond 32 in some cases, and several new composition formulae (1) are constructed in the form of consistently signed intercalate matrices leading to improvements over known results. Methods use D. Romero's idea that a partition of an \(r\times s\) rectangle in a certain manner may lead to upper bounds for \(r*_\mathbb{Z} s\).