On coverings of a finite set: Depth and subcovers (Q797579)

Let \(A=\{0,1,2,...,n-1\}\). For \(m\in A\) let f(m,n) be the least integer k with the following property. If F is a family of subsets of A such that every \(i\in A\) belongs to more than k members of F, then A can be covered by n-m members of F. \textit{D. E. Daykin} [Minimum subcover of a cover of a finite set (solution of Problem E2654), Am. Math. Mon. 85, 766 (1978)] proved that \(f(m,n)\geq 2^{m-1}\) and \(f(m,n)=2^{m-1}\) for 2\(m\leq n\). The main result of the paper under review is the following theorem: For each positive integer j there exists a positive integer \(m_ j\) such that for all \(m\geq m_ j f(m,2m-j)=2^{m-1}.\) Some applications for (2n,n,\(\lambda\),1)-projective designs are also presented. In the last section, known facts about f(m,n) are summarized.