Title: Optimal Ramp Schemes and Related Combinatorial Objects,
Abstract: In 1996, Jackson and Martin proved that a strong ideal ramp scheme is
equivalent to an orthogonal array. However, there was no good characterization
of ideal ramp schemes that are not strong. Here we show the equivalence of
ideal ramp schemes to a new variant of orthogonal arrays that we term augmented
orthogonal arrays. We give some constructions for these new kinds of arrays,
and, as a consequence, we also provide parameter situations where ideal ramp
schemes exist but strong ideal ramp schemes do not exist.