On the classification of semifield flocks

A classical lemma of Weil is used to characterise quadratic polynomials f with coefficients GF(qⁿ), q odd, with the property that f(x) is a non-zero square for all x∈GF(q). This characterisation is used to prove the main theorem which states that there are no subplanes of order q contained in the set of internal points of a conic in PG(2,qⁿ) for q?4n²−8n+2. As a corollary to this theorem it then follows that the only semifield flocks of the quadratic cone of PG(3,qⁿ) for those q exceeding this bound are the linear flocks and the Kantor-Knuth semifield flocks.     

The six semifield planes associated with a semifield flock

In 1965 Knuth (J. Algebra 2 (1965) 182) noticed that a finite semifield was determined by a 3-cube array (a_ijk) and that any permutation of the indices would give another semifield. In this article we explain the geometrical significance of these permutations. It is known that a pair of functions (f,g) where f and g are functions from GF(q) to GF(q) with the property that f and g are linear over some subfield and g(x)²+4xf(x) is a non-square for all x∈GF(q)∗, q odd, give rise to certain semifields, one of which is commutative of rank 2 over its middle nucleus, one of which arises from a semifield flock of the quadratic cone, and another that comes from a translation ovoid of Q(4,q). We show that there are in fact six non-isotopic semifields that can be constructed from such a pair of functions, which will give rise to six non-isomorphic semifield planes, unless (f,g) are of linear type or of Dickson-Kantor-Knuth type. These six semifields fall into two sets of three semifields related by Knuth operations.     

Autotopism groups of cyclic semifield planes

In this article we investigate the autotopism group of the so-called cyclic semifield planes. We show that the group generated by the homology groups of the nuclei is already the full group of autotopisms that are linear with respect to the nuclei. The full autotopism group is also computed with the exception of one special subcase.     

A new semifield of order 2

In [G. Lunardon, Semifields and linear sets of PG(1,q^t), Quad. Mat., Dept. Math., Seconda Univ. Napoli, Caserta (in press)], G. Lunardon has exhibited a construction method yielding a theoretical family of semifields of order q²ⁿ,n>1 and n odd, with left nucleus F_qⁿ, middle and right nuclei both F_q² and center F_q. When n=3 this method gives an alternative construction of a family of semifields described in [N.L. Johnson, G. Marino, O. Polverino, R. Trombetti, On a generalization of cyclic semifields, J. Algebraic Combin. 26 (2009), 1-34], which generalizes the family of cyclic semifields obtained by Jha and Johnson in [V. Jha, N.L. Johnson, Translation planes of large dimension admitting non-solvable groups, J. Geom. 45 (1992), 87-104]. For n>3, no example of a semifield belonging to this family is known.In this paper we first prove that, when n>3, any semifield belonging to the family introduced in the second work cited above is not isotopic to any semifield of the family constructed in the former. Then we construct, with the aid of a computer, a semifield of order 2¹⁰ belonging to the family introduced by Lunardon, which turns out to be non-isotopic to any other known semifield.     

Transitive parabolic unitals in semifield planes

Every semifield plane with spread in PG(3,K), where K is a field admitting a quadratic extension K⁺, is shown to admit a transitive parabolic unital. The author gratefully acknowledges helpful comments of the referee in the writing of this article.     

Derived semifield planes with affine elations

Derived semifield planes admitting non trivial affine elations with more than one centre are examined in detail and several new examples of such plantes are constructed. A new characterization of the Hall planes of even order among derived semifield planes is also given.Research partially supported by G.N.S.A.G.A. (C.N.R.)     

Net replacements in the Hughes-Kleinfeld semifield planes

The bilinear flocks of Cherowitzo are generalized to a large variety of bilinear flocks of the cone ${\mathcal{C}_q}$ . Using these ideas, net replacements of certain Hughes-Kleinfeld planes of order q ⁴ are obtained that construct every André plane in PG(3, q).     

On central collineations of derived semifield planes

LetG denote the collineation group generated by the set of all affine central collineations in a derived semifield plane. We present a characterization of the Hall planes in terms of the order ofG. This essentially allows the extension of the theorems of Kirkpatrick and Rahilly on generalized Hall planes to arbitrary derived semifield planes. That is, a derived semifield plane of order q² is a Hall plane precisely when it admits q+1 involutory central collineations.     

A note on the Boerner-lantz semifield planes

We determine the number of nonisomorphic semifield planes of order p⁴ associated to the Boerner-Lantz semifields.     

Fractional dimension of binary Knuth semifield planes

We prove that semifield planes π(??_2m) coordinatized by the commutative binary Knuth semifield ??_2m, m = nk ( m odd) are fractional dimensional with respect to a subplane isomorphic to PG ( 2 , 4 ) if either n = 9 or n ≡\ 0 ( mod 3 ) and one of the trinomials x ⁿ + x ^s + 1 , s ∈{ 1 , 2 , 3 , 5 }, is irreducible over the Galois field ?? ₂ . © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Combin. Designs 20: 317–327, 2012