Generalized quadrangles constructed from topological Laguerre planes

The Lie geometry of a finite-dimensional locally compact connected Laguerre plane is a topological generalized quadrangle.     

Compact Ovoids in Quadrangles I: Geometric Constructions

This paper is about ovoids in infinite generalized quadrangles. Using the axiom of choice, Cameron showed that infinite quadrangles contain many ovoids. Therefore, we consider mainly closed ovoids in compact quadrangles. After deriving some basic properties of compact ovoids, we consider ovoids which arise from full imbeddings. This leads to restrictions for the topological parameters (m,m). For example, if there is a regular pair of lines or a full closed subquadrangle, then mm. The existence of full subquadrangles implies the nonexistence of ideal subquadrangles, so finite-dimensional quadrangles are either point-minimal or line-minimal. Another result is that (up to duality) such a quadrangle is spanned by the set of points on an ordinary quadrangle. This is useful for studying orbits of automorphism groups. Finally we prove general nonexistence results for ovoids in quadrangles with low-dimensional line pencils. As one consequence we show that the symplectic quadrangle over an algebraically closed field of characteristic 0 has no Zariski-closed ovoids or spreads.     

Kegelschnittbüschel und Inversion

The conjugacy mapping rel. to a complete quadrangle in a Pappian projective plane of characteristic 2 is constructed by using a bijection of the line set onto the bundle of conics through the diagonal points of the quadrangle. The inversion with center O of the inversion circle going through the point P in the Euclidean plane proves to be the product of the reflection at OP and the affine restriction of the conjugacy mapping rel. to the quadrangle having P as one of its vertices and O together with the circular points at infinity as diagonal points.     

Connected Orbits in Topological Generalized Quadrangles

We study generalized quadrangles. After an investigation of the subgeometries that are generated by arbitrary sets of vertices, we consider orbits of connected subgroups of the automorphism group of topological generalized quadrangles. We deal with the problem of how a set of vertices has to be chosen in order that the union of the orbits generates a subquadrangle, or even the whole quadrangle.     

Slanted symplectic quadrangles

By slanting symplectic quadrangles W(F) over fieldsF, we obtain very simple examples of non-classical generalized quadrangles. We determine the collineation groups of these slanted quadrangles and their groups of projectivities. No slanted quadrangle is a topological quadrangle.     

Central Points of the Complete Quadrangle

Generalizing the classical geometry of the triangle in the Euclidean plane E, we define a central point of an n-gon as a symmetric function E ⁿ → E which commutes with all similarities. We first review various geometrical characterizations of some well-known central points of the quadrangle (n = 4) and show how a look at their mutual positions produces a morphologic classification (cyclic, trapezoidal, orthogonal etc.). From a basis of four central points, full information on the quadrangle can be retrieved. This generalizes a problem first faced by Euler for the triangle. Reconstructing a quadrangle from its central points is a geometric analogue of solving an algebraic equation of degree 4: here the diagonal triangle plays the role of a Lagrange resolvent and the determination of loci for the central points replaces the examination of discriminants for real roots.

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Received: March 2007     

All generalized quadrangles of order 3 are known

A generalized quadrangle of order 3 must be isomorphic either to the quadrangle $\text{P}$₄ or to its dual, where $\text{P}$₄ consists of all points of PG(3, 3) and those lines of PG(3, 3) self-conjugate with respect to a null polarity.     

Notes on binary codes related to the O(5, q) generalized quadrangle for odd q

In this note we determine the dimensions of the binary codes spanned by the lines or by the point neighborhoods in the generalized quadrangle Sp(4, q) and its dual O(5, q), where q is odd. Several more general results are given. As a side result we find that if a square generalized quadrangle of odd order has an antiregular point, then all of its points are antiregular.On leave from the Indian Statistical Institute, Calcutta; research supported by a grant from NWO.     

A classification of linear spaces based on quadrangles,II

A quadrangle in a linear space can have at most 3 diagonal points. Denoting by d(Q) the number of diagonal points of a quadrangle Q, we say that a linear space L is of type T ? {0, 1, 2, 3}, if T is the set of values taken by d(Q) for all quadrangles Q in L. This determines a classification of linear spaces into 16 possible types. In this paper we show that the only type {1, 3} linear space in which all lines have finite cardinality is the one obtained from the projective plane of order 4 by deleting two lines together with all their points except the point of intersection.     

Tight sets and <Emphasis Type="Italic">m</Emphasis>-ovoids of generalised quadrangles

The concept of a tight set of points of a generalised quadrangle was introduced by S. E. Payne in 1987, and that of an m-ovoid of a generalised quadrangle was introduced by J. A. Thas in 1989, and we unify these two concepts by defining intriguing sets of points. We prove that every intriguing set of points in a generalised quadrangle is an m-ovoid or a tight set, and we state an intersection result concerning these objects. In the classical generalised quadrangles, we construct new m-ovoids and tight sets. In particular, we construct m-ovoids of W(3,q), q odd, for all even m; we construct (q+1)/2-ovoids of W(3,q) for q odd; and we give a lower bound on m for m-ovoids of H(4,q ²).     

A geometric proof of a theorem on antiregularity of generalized quadrangles

A geometric proof is given in terms of Laguerre geometry of the theorem of Bagchi, Brouwer and Wilbrink, which states that if a generalized quadrangle of order s > 1 has an antiregular point then all of its points are antiregular.     

On collinear Griffiths points

J. Tabov has proved [1] that four Griffiths points are collinear if the vertices of a given quadrangle are on a circle. In this article we prove some generalization of this result in a very simple geometrical way (based on Desargues theorem). Received 9 July 1999; revised 13 December 1999.     

A hemisystem of a nonclassical generalised quadrangle

The concept of a hemisystem of a generalised quadrangle has its roots in the work of B. Segre, and this term is used here to denote a set of points such that every line ℓ meets in half of the points of ℓ. If one takes the point-line geometry on the points of the hemisystem, then one obtains a partial quadrangle and hence a strongly regular point graph. The only previously known hemisystems of generalised quadrangles of order (q, q ²) were those of the elliptic quadric , q odd. We show in this paper that there exists a hemisystem of the Fisher–Thas–Walker–Kantor generalised quadrangle of order (5, 5²), which leads to a new partial quadrangle. Moreover, we can construct from our hemisystem the 3· A ₇-hemisystem of , first constructed by Cossidente and Penttila.      

On subfÌields of radical extensions

A Jordan pair is constructed from a pair of cubic forms satisfying the adjoint identities. Given some parameters and an incidence structure S having three points on each line and no more than one line through two points, a pair of cubic forms are constructed. These forms satisfy the adjoint identities if and only if S is either a star or a generalized quadrangle and the parameters are precisely determined.     

A Sufficient Criterion for Homotopy Cartesianess

Suppose given a commutative quadrangle in a Verdier triangulated category such that there exists an induced isomorphism on the horizontally taken cones. Suppose that the endomorphism ring of the initial or the terminal corner object of this quadrangle satisfies a finiteness condition. Then this quadrangle is homotopy cartesian.     

Compact Generalised Quadrangles with Parameter 1 and Large Group of Automorphisms

If the group of automorphisms of a compact generalised quadrangle with parameter 1 has dimension at least 6, the quadrangle is the real symplectic quadrangle or its dual. There are nonclassical compact generalised quadrangles with parameter 1 whose group of automorphism has dimension 5.     

Partial circle geometries and antiregular quadrangles

A new and rather general definition of circle geometries is given. This definition is such that circle planes and chain spaces are circle geometries. Also the geometry of points and traces of an antiregular quadrangle is a partial circle geometry. Orthogonal quadrangles can then be characterised as those antiregular generalised quadrangles where in the associated partial circle geometry the Miquel condition is satisfied.     

A classification of linear spaces based on quadrangles III

A quadrangle in a linear space can have at most 3 diagonal points. Denoting by d(Q) the number of diagonal points of a quadrangle Q, we say that a linear space L is of type T {0, 1, 2, 3}, if T is the set of values taken by d(Q) for all quadrangles Q in L. This determines a classification of linear spaces into 16 possible types. In this paper we discuss type {0, 2} finite linear spaces, determining precisely the nature of their planes and establishing a strong relationship between them and the group theoretic work of Fischer and Aschbacher and Hall.J.T. acknowledges financial support for this research by the National Research Council of Canada.     

Linearly small elation quadrangles

We show that each elation generalized quadrangle with parameters (p, p), where p is a prime, is isomorphic to the symplectic quadrangle W(p) or its dual Q(4, p). Our results cover the more general case of linearly small elation generalized quadrangles. In particular, we obtain a characterization of the symplectic quadrangle over the field of complex numbers among compact connected quadrangles. We prove that every root elation quadrangle (Q, c, H _F ) is a skew translation quadrangle.     

The automorphism group of Payne derived generalized quadrangles

We solve a long-standing open problem by proving that the automorphism group of any thick Payne derived generalized quadrangle with ambient quadrangle S a thick generalized quadrangle of order s, s?5 and odd, with a center of symmetry, is induced by the automorphism group of S.