The non-classical 10-arc of PG(4,9) (Q1079807)

A k-arc in PG(d,q), the projective geometry of dimension d over the Galois field GF(q), is a set of k points no \(d+1\) of which are in a common hyperplane. It is known that if \(2\leq d\leq q-2\) every normal rational curve of PG(d,q) forms a \((q+1)\)-arc; such arcs are called classical. The author describes and derives several properties of a 10- arc K in PG(4,9) which is not a normal rational curve. This is the first example of a non-classical arc of PG(d,q), where q is odd and \(2\leq d\leq q-2.\) These interesting properties of K are: it is unique, self-dual, and the group of collineations of PG(4,9) fixing K is isomorphic to the group of linear fractional transformations of GF(q)\(\cup \{\infty \}\). Finally, the author shows that every 9-arc of PG(3,9) is either complete (i.e., not contained in a 10-arc of PG(3,9)) or a normal rational curve.