Completing the Existence Problem for Integer Relative Heffter Arrays $\mathrm{H}_k(n;k)$

Abstract

Heffter arrays, introduced by Archdeacon in 2015, are combinatorial structures with applications to cyclic cycle systems and biembeddings of graphs on surfaces. Costa, Morini, Pasotti and Pellegrini proposed in 2020 the notion of relative Heffter arrays as a generalization of classical Heffter arrays, inspired by the concept of relative difference families. In their work, the existence problem of integer relative Heffter arrays $\mathrm{H}_k(n;k)$ was solved for all $k\neq 5$, while the case $k=5$ and $n \equiv 0 \pmod{4}$ remained open, apart from two sporadic examples with $n=8,16$. In this article, we consider this open problem and we construct an $\mathrm{H}_5(n;5)$ for every $n\equiv 0 \pmod{4}$, $n\geq 12$. As a consequence, the existence problem of integer relative $\mathrm{H}_k(n;k)$ is completely settled.