Recursive constructions for block-transitive, poset-imprimitive two-designs

Abstract

We give two general constructions for $2$-designs, that can be used recursively, and interchangeably, to produce new infinite families of $2$-designs admitting block-transitive groups of automorphisms which preserve arbitrarily large posets of partitions of the point-set. The only arbitrarily large posets for which constructions were previously known are chains of arbitrary length. Using the constructions we exhibit new infinite families of poset-imprimitive block-transitive $2$-designs corresponding to several different arbitrarily large posets, as well as constructions for most posets with four nodes.