Extending Symmetric Layer-Rainbow Latin Cubes

Abstract

An $n\times n\times n$ array on $n^2$ symbols is a layer-rainbow Latin cube if every layer contains every symbol exactly once. We call it symmetric if $L_{ij\ell}=L_{j\ell i}=L_{\ell ij}$ for distinct $i,j,\ell$ and $L_{iij}=L_{jji}$, $L_{iji}=L_{jij}$, $L_{ijj}=L_{jii}$ for distinct $i,j$. We determine exactly when a symmetric layer-rainbow Latin cube of order $m$ embeds in one of order $n$, giving a three-dimensional analogue of Cruse's embedding theorem. Call a positive integer admissible if it is congruent to $0$ or $2$ modulo $3$, with $1$ admissible and $3$ excluded. For $n>m$, an embedding exists if and only if $m,n$ are admissible, $(m,n)\ne(2,5)$, and \[ \begin{cases} n\geq2m,&n-m\not\equiv1\pmod3,\\[1mm] \displaystyle n\geq m+\frac{\sqrt{48m^2+1}-1}{6},&n-m\equiv1\pmod3. \end{cases} \] Via the equivalent one-factorization problem for a non-uniform hypergraph, fair detachment reduces the proof to an exact integer allocation. We also determine the structure forced at both sharp boundaries and obtain infinitely many equality cases. At order eight, we construct a symmetric layer-rainbow Latin cube admitting the natural diagonal action of $\operatorname{PSL}(2,7)$, whose induced action on the $64$ symbols has orbit sizes $1,7,28,28$.