Computation of Maximal Determinants of Binary Circulant Matrices

We describe algorithms for computing maximal determinants of binary circulant matrices of small orders. Here “binary matrix” means a matrix whose elements are drawn from $\{0,1\}$ or $\{-1,1\}$. We describe efficient parallel algorithms for the search, using Duval’s algorithm for generation of necklaces and the well-known representation of the determinant of a circulant in terms of roots of unity. Tables of maximal determinants are given for orders $\le 53$. Our computations extend earlier results and disprove two plausible conjectures.