On the range of influences in back-circulant Latin squares (Q924979)

A critical set \(C\) in a Latin square \(L\) consists of a partial Latin square which is contained in no Latin square other than \(L\) and for which this is not true of any proper subset of \(C\). The influence of \(x\), \(\theta(x)\), for \(x\) in \(C\), consists of the number of cells of \(L\) that are not forced to be completed by \(C\setminus\{x\}\). The number of distinct values taken on by \(\theta(x)\) is called the index of \(C\). Although it was conjectured by \textit{L. F. Fitina}, \textit{J. Seberry} and \textit{G. R. Chaudhry} [Australas. J. Combin. 20, 163--180 (1999; Zbl 0928.05010)] that a certain critical set in the back-circulant Latin square of odd order \(n\) had an index of \((n- 3)/2\), the authors show that for all \(\varepsilon> 0\), this index eventually exceeds \(n^{2-\varepsilon}\).