Some necessary conditions for vector space partitions

Abstract

Some new necessary conditions for the existence of vector space partitions are derived. They are applied to the problem of finding the maximum number of spaces of dimension t in a vector space partition of V(2t,q) that contains m_d spaces of dimension d, where t/2<d<t, and also spaces of other dimensions. It is also discussed how this problem is related to maximal partial t-spreads in V(2t,q). We also give a lower bound for the number of spaces in a vector space partition and verify that this bound is tight.