Heffter spaces (Q6597207)

This paper introduces the concept of a Heffter space, a novel combinatorial design that generalizes the Heffter array. A Heffter array, which has been an area of significant interest over the past decade, is equivalent to a pair of orthogonal Heffter systems. The authors explore the existence problem for sets of \(r\) mutually orthogonal Heffter systems (MOHS) for any \(r\). They establish that such a set is equivalent to a resolvable partial linear space of degree \(r\) whose parallel classes are themselves Heffter systems. The main results include constructing Heffter spaces with odd block sizes and arbitrarily large degrees \(r\). Specifically, showing that for any odd integer \(k\geq 3\) and any positive integer \(r\), there are infinitely many values of \(v\) such that there exists a set of \(r\) mutually orthogonal Heffter systems of order \(v\) and block size \(k\).\N\NAdditionally, the paper addresses the more challenging case of constructing Heffter spaces with even block sizes, noting that achieving similar results in this scenario seems challenging. However, the authors are preparing a separate paper that will present several constructions for Heffter spaces with even block sizes, although with a limited degree \(r\).\N\NThis research has raised an open problem, namely the existence of Heffter linear spaces. The study contributes significantly to the field of combinatorial design theory by introducing new structures and methodologies for constructing MOHS, paving the way for further advancements in this interdisciplinary domain.