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In combinatorial mathematics, specifically in combinatorial design theory and combinatorial matrix theory the Williamson conjecture is that Williamson matrices of order ${\displaystyle n}$ exist for all positive integers ${\displaystyle n}$. Four symmetric and circulant matrices ${\displaystyle A}$, ${\displaystyle B}$, ${\displaystyle C}$, ${\displaystyle D}$ are known as Williamson matrices if their entries are ${\displaystyle \pm 1}$ and they satisfy the relationship

${\displaystyle A^{2}+B^{2}+C^{2}+D^{2}=4nI}$

where ${\displaystyle I}$ is the identity matrix of order ${\displaystyle n}$. John Williamson showed that if ${\displaystyle A}$, ${\displaystyle B}$, ${\displaystyle C}$, ${\displaystyle D}$ are Williamson matrices then

${\displaystyle {\begin{bmatrix}A&B&C&D\\-B&A&-D&C\\-C&D&A&-B\\-D&-C&B&A\end{bmatrix}}}$

is an Hadamard matrix of order ${\displaystyle 4n}$. It was once considered likely that Williamson matrices exist for all orders ${\displaystyle n}$ and that the structure of Williamson matrices could provide a route to proving the Hadamard conjecture that Hadamard matrices exist for all orders ${\displaystyle 4n}$. However, in 1993 the Williamson conjecture was shown to be false via an exhaustive computer search by Dragomir Ž. Ðoković, who showed that Williamson matrices do not exist in order ${\displaystyle n=35}$. In 2008, the counterexamples 47, 53, and 59 were additionally discovered.

References

1. Williamson, John (1944). "Hadamard's determinant theorem and the sum of four squares". Duke Mathematical Journal. 11 (1): 65–81. doi:10.1215/S0012-7094-44-01108-7. MR 0009590.
2. Golomb, Solomon W.; Baumert, Leonard D. (1963). "The Search for Hadamard Matrices". American Mathematical Monthly. 70 (1): 12–17. doi:10.2307/2312777. JSTOR 2312777. MR 0146195.
3. Ðoković, Dragomir Ž. (1993). "Williamson matrices of order ${\displaystyle 4n}$ for ${\displaystyle n=33,35,39}$". Discrete Mathematics. 115 (1): 267–271. doi:10.1016/0012-365X(93)90495-F. MR 1217635.
4. Holzmann, W. H.; Kharaghani, H.; Tayfeh-Rezaie, B. (2008). "Williamson matrices up to order 59". Designs, Codes and Cryptography. 46 (3): 343–352. doi:10.1007/s10623-007-9163-5. MR 2372843.

• Combinatorial design
• Disproved conjectures