Discrete Geometry: Difference Sets, Projective Geometry, and Symmetric Designs

Event Date: 

Wednesday, October 2, 2013 - 2:00pm to 3:00pm

Event Location: 

  • 4607B South Hall

Event Contact: 

Jon McCammond

Email: jon.mccammond@math.ucsb.edu

Speaker: Michael Dougherty

Abstract: A symmetric design is a certain type of incidence structure with additional properties. As is often the case, the existence of groups which act "nicely" on these designs is of interest to us. This algebraic question turns out to be equivalent to a combinatorial one: the existence of difference sets. Using projective geometry, we can construct families of difference sets in groups of certain orders.