On partial parallel classes in partial Steiner triple systems (Q2659191)

A partial Steiner system of order \(v\), PSTS(\(v\)) for short, is a pair \(S=(X,B)\), where \(X\) is a set of \(v\) points and \(B\) is a set of \(3\)-subsets (blocks) such that every pair of points occurs in at most one block. A partial parallel class (PPC) of size \(\rho\) in \(S\) is any set of \(\rho\) disjoint blocks. A PPC is maximum if it has size \(\rho\) and there does not exist any PPC in \(S\) of size \(\rho +1\). For an integer \(\rho\) such that \(1 \le \rho \le \frac{v}{3}\), the maximum number of blocks \(\beta(\rho,v)\) in any PSTS(\(v\)) in which the maximum PPC has size \(\rho\), is considered. Lower bounds on \(\beta(\rho,v)\) are obtained by explicit constructions. Upper bounds results are obtained by counting arguments. These results are applied to obtain sequenceable partial Steiner triple systems. Here, sequenceable means that there exists a permutation \(\pi\) of the point-set \(X\) such that no \(3t\) consecutive points in \(\pi\) are the union of \(t\) blocks, for all \(t\) with \(1\le t \le \lfloor \frac{v}{3}\rfloor\).