Check digit systems over groups and anti-symmetric mappings (Q5927594)

Using permutations \(\tau_0,\ldots,\tau_m\) of a finite group \((G,\cdot)\), a check digit system over \(G\) adds to every information word \(x_m\ldots x_1\in G^m\) a check digit \(x_0\in G\) fulfilling the check equation \(\tau_m(x_m)\ldots \tau_1(x_1)\tau_0(x_0)=c\) (where \(c\) is a fixed element of \(G\)). Such a system allows errors to be detected in one component; and it detects adjacent transpositions (interchanged neighbour components) iff (for \(i=1,\ldots, m\)) \(\tau_i\circ\tau^{-1}_{i-1}\) are anti-symmetric. Here, a permutation \(\varphi\) of \(G\) is called anti-symmetric if \(\varphi (x)y\neq \varphi (y)x\) for all \(x,y\in G\) with \(x\neq y\). (See as well \textit{J. Verhoeff} [Error detecting decimal codes, Math. Centre Tracts 29, Mathematisch Centrum (1969; Zbl 0267.94016)] and \textit{R.-H. Schulz} [Computational discrete math., Adv. lectures, Lect. Notes Comput. Sci. 2122, 136-147 (2001; Zbl 1003.94537) and Numbers, information and complexity, Kluwer Academic, 295-310 (2000; Zbl 0967.94030)].) In the present article, the author gives a characterization for automorphisms and anti-automorphisms of \(G\) to be anti-symmetric, shows how anti-automorphisms are used to construct new anti-symmetric mappings from others and gives an upper bound for the number of anti-symmetric mappings of a group. For groups with a homomorphism sgn\(_G:G\rightarrow\{ -1,1\}\) (group with sign-structure, cf. \textit{J. Sirán} and \textit{M. Skoviera} [Discrete Math. 108, 189-202 (1992; Zbl 0806.20025)]), particularly for the dihedral groups \(D_n\), further constructions of anti-symmetric mappings are presented. The fact that groups of order \(2(2k+1)\) have a nontrivial sign-structure leads to a short proof that these groups do not possess complete mappings (see for instance \textit{H. Siemon} [Anwendungen der elementaren Gruppentheorie in Zahlentheorie und Kombinatorik, Klett Studienbücher Mathematik (1981; Zbl 0502.20001)]) and therefore cannot detect all twin errors or all jump twin errors. Finally, it is shown that no check digit system over \(D_n\) for \(n\) odd detects all jump transpositions.