A generalization of a theorem of Totten

Abstract

AbstractAn (r, 1) system is pair (V, F) where V is a v-set and F is a family of non-null subsets of V (b in number) which satisfy the following.(i) Every pair of distinct members of V occur in precisely one member of F;(ii) Every member of V occurs in precisely r members of F.A pseudo parallel complement PPC(n, α) is an (n+1, 1) system with ν = n2 – αn and b ≦ n2 + n – α in which there are at least n – α blocks of size n. A pseudo intersection complement PIC (n, α) is an (n+1, 1) system with ν=n2 – αn + α – 1 b ≦ n2+n – α in which there are at least n – α+1 blocks of size n-1. It is shown that for α ≧ 4, every PIC(n, α) can be embedded in a PPC(n, α – 1) and that for n > (α4 + 2α3 + 2α2 + α)/2 every PPC(n, α) can be embedded in a projective plant of order n. The latter generalizes a result of Totten (who proves the result for α = 1).