Construction of \(k\)-arc transitive digraphs (Q5937602)

A digraph is \(k\)-arc transitive if it has a group of automorphisms, which acts transitively on the set of \(k\)-arcs. The corresponding notion for undirected graphs led to remarkable results in that finite cubic graphs cannot be \(k\)-arc transitive for \(k> 5\) and that the only finite connected \(k\)-arc transitive graphs with \(k\geq 8\) are the cycles. It is shown that every regular finite digraph admits a covering digraph, which is \(k\)-arc transitive. The result provides a technique to construct \(k\)-arc transitive digraphs from arbitrary regular digraphs. Several examples of complete graphs with and without loops are given.