Lecture notes on the Web
This list gives you access to lecture notes in design theory,
finite geometry and related areas of discrete mathematics on
the Web. I have given a brief annotation and table of contents
for each set of notes.
Note on formats: HTML files should be handled
by your browser. Others require special software to display or print them.
On my system, these are xdvi (for DVI), ghostview (for
PostScript), and acroread (Acrobat reader for PDF). All these are
freely available and can be wired into your browser.
Please email me with
further information for this section. I will include readers' reviews
if anyone is prepared to submit them!
Contents of this page:
- Socrates Intensive Courses on Finite Geometry and
Applications
- Lecture notes
on permutation groups
- Individual sets of notes:
- Ian Anderson and Iiro Honkala,
A short course in combinatorial designs
- R. A. Bailey,
Association schemes and partially balanced designs
- A. Betten, H. Fripertinger and A. Kerber,
Algebraic combinatorics via finite group actions
- Chris K. Caldwell,
Graph theory tutorials
- Peter J. Cameron,
Classical groups
- Peter J. Cameron,
Projective and polar spaces
- Peter J. Cameron,
Polynomial aspects of codes, matroids and permutation groups
- Bill Cherowitzo,
Combinatorial structures
- Queen Mary Combinatorics Study Group Papers
- Stephen Donkin,
Linear Algebra
- Andrew Granville,
Arithmetic properties of Binomial Coefficients
- W. D. Joyner,
The Mathematics of Rubik's Cube
-
M. Klin et al.,
Algebraic combinatorics in mathematical chemistry
-
László Lovász's Lecture Notes
- T. W. Müller,
Five lectures on generalized permutation representations
- Steven R. Pagano,
Matroids and signed graphs
- John Preskill,
Quantum information theory and quantum computing
- D. R. Stinson,
Combinatorial designs with selected applications
- Herb Wilf,
East side, west side
- Other sources of notes
There are several sets of lecture notes from the Socrates Intensive
Courses in Finite Geometries and Applications.
Ian Anderson and Iiro Honkala,
A short course on combinatorial designs, available from
http://www.utu.fi/~honkala/designs.ps
The basics in less than forty pages.
Format: PostScript
Contents:
- Systems of distinct representatives
- 2-designs
- t-designs and Steiner systems
- Codes and designs
R. A. Bailey,
Association schemes and partially balanced designs, available
from
http://www.maths.qmul.ac.uk/~rab/MAS417/
Notes of a course currently in progress. Written
from a statistician's point of view, these notes are complementary to the
treatments by Bannai and Ito or by Brouwer, Cohen and Neumaier: they have
much to say about methods of calculation and about highly imprimitive
association schemes, for example. Also includes an annotated
reading list, and course problem sheets. The notes are adapted from a
forthcoming book.
Format: PDF
Contents:
- Definitions of association scheme
- Adjacency matrices
- Some special association schemes
- The Bose-Mesner algebra
- Character tables
- Techniques
- Strongly regular graphs
- Block designs
- Partially balanced block designs
- A little statistics
- Efficiency
- Cyclic designs
- Families of partitions
- Orthogonal block structures
A. Betten, H. Fripertinger and A. Kerber,
Algebraic combinatorics via finite group actions, available from
http://bedvgm.kfunigraz.ac.at:8001/frib/html2/book/hyl00.html
A very complete survey of enumeration under group
action; in interactive HTML, so you can try out the concepts for
yourself. Many exercises.
But you have to re-configure your X-windows to get the symbols to
print correctly.
Format: HTML
Contents:
- Actions (Actions of groups; Bilateral classes, symmetry classes of
mappings; Finite symmetric groups; Complete monomial groups;
Enumeration of symmetry classes; The involution principle;
Special symmetry classes)
- Weights (Enumeration by weight; Cycle indicator polynomials;
Sums of cycle indicators, recursive methods; A generalization;
The Decomposition Theorem; Species)
- Marks
- Constructions (Orbit evaluation; Transversals of symmetry classes;
Orbits of centralizers; Recursion and orderly generation;
Generating orbit representatives; Symmetry adapted bases)
- Index
Arrigo Bonisoli, On collineation groups of
finite planes, (Socrates course notes), available from
http://cage.rug.ac.be/~fdc/intensivecourse2/bonisoli2.pdf
The heart of Dembowski's book Finite Geometries,
published in 1968, concerned collineations of finite projective planes.
This material has never been satisfactorily brought up to date. These
notes do so in part, including a lot of recent material on collineation
groups fixing an oval.
The addendum, available from
http://cage.rug.ac.be/~fdc/intensivecourse2/bonisoli_koen.pdf,
contain exercises and further explanations.
Format: PDF
Contents:
- Introduction
- The basics
- Some classics
- Machinery
- Primitive ovals in projective planes of odd order
- An excursion into graphs
- The uniqueness of the dual Lüneburg plane of order 64
- Recent results, open problems
Contents of addendum by K. Thas:
- Notation, definitions, and some exercises
- Ovals, ovoids, and a theorem concerning the fixed element structure of
a collineation of a finite projective plane
- Translation nets, translation planes, Moufang planes, and
( p,L)-transitivity
- Some easy remarks on the proofs of some propositions
- On Proposition 4.3
- On Section 5
- Moufang sets and collineations of projective planes
- Collineations of finite projective planes and the Petersen graph
- References
Matthew Brown, (Hyper)ovals and ovoids in projective
spaces, (Socrates course notes), available from
http://cage.rug.ac.be/~fdc/intensivecourse2/brown_2.pdf
An oval or ovoid in a finite projective space
of odd characteristic is "classical" (a conic or elliptic quadric), but there
are other examples in characteristic 2, and the classification problems are
still open. This survey gives proofs of the classical results, and up-to-date
information in characteristic 2 including the recent "Adelaide ovals".
Format: PDF
Contents:
- Introduction
- (Hyper)ovals in PG(2,q)
- Ovoids in PG(3,q)
- References
Francis Buekenhout, History and prehistory of
polar spaces and of generalized quadrangles, (Socrates course notes),
available from
http://cage.rug.ac.be/~fdc/intensivecourse2/buekenhout3.pdf
The story of one of the most important topics in finite
geometry, told by one who contributed more than anyone else except Jacques
Tits to the story.
Format: PDF
Contents:
- Introduction
- Projective spaces
- Duality and polarity
- The classical groups, Jordan 1870 and Dickson 1901
- Tits 1956
- Veldkamp 1959
- Tits 1959, Feit-Higman 1964
- Tits 1961-1974
- Buekenhout-Shult 1974
- To be done
- References
Chris K. Caldwell, Graph theory tutorials, available
from
http://www.utm.edu/departments/math/graph/
Created with WebTutor; you have to register, and
you have to do the exercises before you are allowed to proceed. Aimed at
beginning graph theorists.
Format: HTML (CGI)
Contents:
- Introduction to graph theory
- Euler circuits and paths
- Coloring problems
(More tutorials are promised)
Peter J. Cameron,
Finite geometry and coding theory,
(Socrates course notes), available from
http://dwispc8.vub.ac.be/Potenza/lectnotes.html
Mainly about quadratic forms over GF(2) and their role in
finite geometry, classical and quantum error-correction,
extraspecial groups, etc. Includes exercises.
Format: PostScript
Contents:
- Codes
- Symplectic and quadratic forms
- Reed-Muller codes
- Self-dual codes
- Bent functions
- Kerdock codes
- Some resolved designs
- Extraspecial 2-groups
- Quantum computing
- Quantum codes
- Z4 codes
- Bibliography
Peter J. Cameron,
Classical groups,
available from
http://www.maths.qmul.ac.uk/~pjc/class_gps/.
Notes of a lecture course, roughly following Taylor's book:
generation and simplicity of classical groups, and some of
their geometry. Includes exercises.
Format: DVI, PostScript, PDF
Contents:
- Fields and vector spaces
- Linear and projective groups
- Polarities and forms
- Symplectic groups
- Unitary groups
- Orthogonal groups
- The Klein correspondence and triality
- Further topics
- A short bibliography on classical groups
Peter J. Cameron,
Projective and polar spaces,
available from
http://www.maths.qmul.ac.uk/~pjc/pps/.
Second edition (with revisions and corrections) of QMW Maths Notes 13,
first published in 1991. Describes the geometry of projective and polar
spaces, with extras such as Clifford algebras, Mathieu groups, and
diagram geometry. Includes exercises.
Format: PDF
Contents:
- Projective spaces
- Projective planes
- Coordinatisation of projective spaces
- Various topics
- Buekenhout geometries
- Polar spaces
- Axioms for polar spaces
- The Klein quadric and triality
- The geometry of the Mathieu groups
- Exterior powers and Clifford algebras
- References and index
Peter J. Cameron,
Polynomial aspects of codes, matroids and permutation groups,
available from
http://www.maths.qmul.ac.uk/~pjc/csgnotes/cmpgpoly.pdf.
These notes include background on codes, matroids and permutation groups,
and polynomials associated with them (weight enumerator, Tutte polynomial
and cycle index), and describe the links between these objects. Their
second purpose is to describe codes over Z4 and the
associated matroids and permutation groups.
Format: PDF
Contents:
- Codes
- Codes over Z4
- Matroids
- Matroids and codes
- Permutation groups
- Cycle index
- Codes and permutation groups
- IBIS groups
Bill Cherowitzo, Combinatorial structures,
available from
http://www-math.cudenver.edu/~wcherowi/courses/m6406/m6406f.html
A combinatorics course, slanted to topics of interest to
design theorists and finite geometers. In well-designed HTML, with homework
problems.
Format: HTML
Contents:
- Latin squares
- Introduction to finite fields
- Hadamard matrices
- Block designs
- Finite geometries
Queen Mary Combinatorics Study Group Papers,
available from
http://www.maths.qmul.ac.uk/~pjc/csg.html#csgpapers
An occasional series of expository papers about topics
discussed in the Study Group.
Format: DVI, PostScript, PDF
Contents:
- Fibonacci notes, by Peter Cameron and Dima Fon-Dear-Flaass
- Notes on quantum error correction, by Harriet Pollatsek and Keldon Drudge
- Problems from the First Anglo-Hungarian Meeting on Groups and Geometries
- Five lectures on generalized permutation representations, by Thomas
Müller
- Borcherds' proof of the moonshine conjecture, after V. Nikulin
- Partially ordered sets, by Thomas Britz and Peter Cameron
- Causal set glossary and bibliography, by Rafael D. Sorkin
- A Markov chain for Steiner triple systems, working notes by Peter Cameron
- Primitive lambda-roots, by Peter Cameron and Donald Preece
- Decoding the Mathieu group M12, by Robert F. Bailey
Stephen Donkin, Linear algebra,
available from
http://www.maths.qmul.ac.uk/~donkin/linearalgebra/
An elementary course on linear algebra. Includes both
the concrete approach via matrices and the abstract approach via vector
spaces.
Format: PDF
Contents:
- Matrices
- Inversion, elementary row operations
- Determinants
- Vector spaces
- Linear maps
- The rank of a matrix
J. Eisfeld and L. Storme,
(Partial) t-spreads and minimal t-covers in finite projective
spaces, available from
http://cage.rug.ac.be/~fdc/intensivecourse2/storme2.ps
A survey of this topic, including extendability of
partial spreads to spreads and largest/smallest cardinality of
partial spreads/covers of projective spaces.
Format: PostScript
Contents:
- t-spreads of projective spaces
- t-covers and partial t-spreads in PG(N,q),
where t+1 does not divide N+1
- Extendability of spreads in PG(3,q)
- Partial spreads in PG(N,q), where t+1 divides N+1
- Minimal t-covers in PG(N,q), where t+1
divides N+1
- General covering and blocking problems in projective spaces
- References
Andrew Granville,
Arithmetic properties of Binomial Coefficients, available from
http://www.math.uga.edu/~andrew/Binomial/index.html
From Lucas' Theorem to recent results on congruences
of binomial coefficients modulo prime powers. This is a dynamic survey
which is expected to develop.
Format: HTML
Contents:
- Introduction
- Elementary Number Theory
- Generalization of Lucas' Theorem
- Congruences for sums of binomial coefficients
- Computing binomial coefficients modulo prime powers
- Recognizing the primes
- Pascal's triangle via cellular automata
- Studying binomial coefficients through their generating function
- Bernoulli numbers and polynomials
- Theorems of Morley and Emma Lehmer and their generalizations
- Some useful p-adic numbers
- Congruences modulo higher powers of primes
- Concluding remarks
- References
Willem H. Haemers,
Matrix techniques for strongly regular graphs and related geometries,
(Socrates course notes), available from
http://cage.rug.ac.be/~fdc/intensivecourse2/haemers2.pdf
After surveying strongly regular graphs and their
generalisations (distance-regular graphs and association schemes), these
notes discuss matrix techniques (partitions and interlacing), with an
application to the uniqueness of a particular strongly regular graph.
The addendum, available from
http://cage.rug.ac.be/~fdc/intensivecourse2/haemers_extensie.pdf
gives supplementary results, mostly more geometric in
character.
Format: PDF
Contents:
- Strongly regular graphs
- Association schemes
- Matrix tools
- The (81, 20, 1, 6) strongly regular graph
- References
Contents of addendum by S. Cauchie and E. Kuijken:
- Eigenvalues of a regular graph
- The friendship property; polarities in projective planes
- The line graph of a graph
- (Partial) linear spaces and their point and line graphs
- Pseudo-geometric graphs
- Spreads
- References
J. W. P. Hirschfeld,
Semi-linear groups over finite fields,
(Socrates course notes), available from
http://dwispc8.vub.ac.be/Potenza/lectnotes.html
Discusses the types of polarities of projective spaces and
the semi-linear groups they define.
Format: PostScript
Contents:
- Polarities
- Groups on the line
- Orders and isomorphisms among the semi-linear groups
- Bibliography
W. D. Joyner,
The mathematics of Rubik's cube,
available from
http://www.permutationpuzzles.org/rubik/webnotes/rubik.pdf
An introduction to the discrete mathematics and group theory
underlying Rubik's cube and other permutation puzzles. A fine
example of non-trivial mathematics arising from "diversions".
Many worked examples and exercises.
Format: DVI
Contents:
- Logic and sets
- Functions, matrices, relations and counting
- Permutations
- Permutation puzzles
- Groups, I
- Graphs and "God's Algorithm"
- Symmetry groups of the Platonic solids
- Groups, II
- The Rubik's cube and the word problem
- The 2 × 2 and 3 × 3 cube groups
- Other Rubik-like puzzle groups
- Interesting subgroups of the cube group
- Crossing the Rubicon
- Appendix: some solution strategies
M. Klin, Ch. Rücker, G. Rücker, G. Tinhofer,
Algebraic Combinatorics in Mathematical Chemistry. Methods and Algorithms,
I, Permutation Groups and Coherent (Cellular) Algebras,
available from
http://www-lit.ma.tum.de/veroeff/html/950.05003.html
This valuable exposition and survey brings together
ideas about graph isomorphism, cellular algebras, permutation groups, and
mathematical chemistry.
Format: PostScript
Contents:
- Introduction
- The subject of algebraic combinatorics
- Problems related to the perception of the symmetry of chemical graphs
- Fundamentals of permutation group theory
- Centralizer algebras of permutation groups
- Cellular algebras
- Galois correspondence between permutation groups and cellular algebras
- S-rings over cyclic groups
- Automorphism groups of certain chemical graphs
- Concluding remarks
O. H. King,
Classical groups,
(Socrates course notes), available from
http://dwispc8.vub.ac.be/Potenza/lectnotes.html
A general account of classical groups including Aschbacher's
Theorem.
Format: PostScript
Contents:
- Forms and groups
- Isomorphisms between classical groups
- Aschbacher's Theorem
- Bibliography
T. W. Müller,
Five lectures on generalized permutation representations,
available from
http://www.maths.qmul.ac.uk/~pjc/csgnotes/LecBras.ps
Lectures given by the author in an algebra summer school
in Brazil, and repeated in the Queen Mary Combinatorics Study Group. They
describe techniques for counting representations of an arbitrary finitely
generated group in a wreath product H wr Sn
(or a variant on this), with applications to such topics as Quillen
complexes and subgroup growth.
Format: PostScript
Contents:
- Some combinatorial aspects of permutation representations
- Generalizing permutation representations
- Some examples and a formula for the exterior function
- Explicit formulae for abelian groups and computations in Quillen complexes
- Asymptotics of
Hom(G, H wr Sn)
and subgroup growth
László Lovász,
Lecture notes, available from
http://www.cs.yale.edu/homes/lovasz/notes.html
Various sets of notes by Lovász on topics
in discrete mathematics. Packed with insight, clear explanation, and many
exercises. Recommended.
Format: PostScript
Contents:
- Semidefinite optimization
- Topological methods in combinatorics
- Complexity of algorithms
- (with K. Vesztergombi) Discrete Mathematics
F. Mazzocca,
Nuclei in projective planes, available from
http://cage.rug.ac.be/~fdc/intensivecourse2/nuclei_2.ps
A nucleus of a set S of q+1 points in a
projective plane of order q is a point all lines through which meet
S in just one point. These notes tell what is known about nuclei,
and generalisations to affine planes and to "multiple nuclei".
Format: PostScript
Contents:
- Definition and examples
- Some results
- The Segre-Korchmáros lemma and its applications
- Sets with the maximal number of nuclei
- Quasi-odd sets
- Generalizations
- Further generalizations
- References
Steven R. Pagano,
Matroids and signed graphs, available from
http://www.ms.uky.edu/~pagano/Matridx.htm
A student's-eye view of these topics - clearly introduced.
Format: HTML
Contents:
- Introduction and some notes
- What is a matroid?
- Some common examples of matroids
- Circuits, bases, rank, closure
- Duality
- Minors
- Representability
- Connectivity
- What the heck is a signed graph?
- What are you trying to find out?
- Have you found anything interesting yet?
- Any good references for all this stuff?
John Preskill,
Quantum information theory and quantum computation,
available from
http://www.theory.caltech.edu/people/preskill/ph229/
A careful exposition of this important topic, for the Caltech course
PH229. Includes new material on quantum error correction of interest
to design theorists. Includes exercises. Recommended.
Format: PostScript
Contents:
- Introduction and overview
- Foundations of quantum theory I: States and ensembles
- Foundations of quantum theory II: Measurements and ensembles
- Quantum entanglement
- Quantum information theory
- Quantum computation
- Quantum error correction
D. R. Stinson,
Combinatorial designs with selected applications,
available from
http://cacr.math.uwaterloo.ca/~dstinson/papers/designnotes.ps
A detailed account of BIBDs, with many examples and
up-to-date applications.
Format: PostScript
Contents:
- Basic definitions and properties of BIBDs
- Symmetric BIBDs
- Resolvable BIBDs
- Steiner triple systems
- Orthogonal Latin squares
- Authentication codes
- Threshold schemes
- Visual cryptography
- Group testing
- Two-point sampling
- References
J. A. Thas and H. Van Maldeghem,
Embeddings of geometries in finite projective spaces,
available from
http://cage.rug.ac.be/~fdc/intensivecourse2/hvm-jat.pdf
A timely survey of polar spaces, generalised polygons,
and partial geometries, directed towards discussing their embeddings in
projective spaces.
Format: PDF
Contents:
- Definitions
- Some important finite point-line geometries
- Embeddings of generalized quadrangles
- Embeddings of polar spaces
- Embeddings of partial geometries
- Embeddings of the flag geometries of projective planes
- Embeddings of generalized hexagons
- Polarized, flat and lax embeddings of generalized polygons
- Open cases and conjectures
- References
H. Wilf, East side, west side, available from
http://www.cis.upenn.edu/~wilf/eastwest.pdf
A set of notes accompanying a
Maple package
which can count, list, choose a random member
of ..., combinatorial objects of various types (subsets, partitions or
permutations).
Format: PDF
Contents:
- Introduction
- About programming in Maple
- Sets and subsets
- Permutations and their cycles
- Set partitions
- Integer partitions
- ... and all around the town
- The EastWest Maple package
- Program notes
Other sources for lecture notes on the Web include
Peter J. Cameron
20 May 2003