Equi-isoclinic planes of Euclidean spaces (Q2502997)

Two subspaces \(V\) and \(W\) of a Euclidean space are said to be isoclinic with parameter \(\lambda\) if every line in \(V\) makes with every line in \(W\) the same angle \(\phi\) with \(\cos ^2 \phi = \lambda\). A family of subspaces is equi-isoclinic if they are pairwise isoclinic with the same parameter. The maximum number of \(n\)-dimensional subspaces of the \(r\)-dimensional Euclidean space \(\mathbb{R}^r\) that are equi-isoclinic with parameter \(\lambda\) is denoted by \(\nu_{\lambda}(n,r)\), and the maximum number of \(n\)-dimensional subspaces that are equi-isoclinic is denoted by \(\nu(n,r)\). In [Nederl. Akad. Wet. Proc., Ser. A 76, 98--107 (1973; Zbl 0272.50008)], \textit{P.~W.~H.~Lemmens} and \textit{J.~J.~Seidel} gave an upper bound of \(\nu_{\lambda}(n,r)\) in terms of \(n\), \(r\), and \(\lambda\), and they determined \(\nu_{\lambda}(n,2n)\) for all \(n\) and \(\lambda\). In [Indag. Math. New Ser. 11, No. 2, 201--207 (2000; Zbl 0983.51010)], \textit{B.~El-Taoui} determined all the values of \(\nu_{\lambda}(n,r)\) for some even integers \(r\). In particular, \(\nu (2,4) = 4\). In the paper under review, the author proves, using matrix methods, that \(\nu (2,5) = 5\). He explicitly describes five planes in \(\mathbb{R}^5\) that are equi-isoclinic with parameter 1/4, and also addresses the issue of uniqueness of such a quintuple of planes. He also makes certain remarks relating this line of research to a conjecture in physics on the existence of \(r^2\) lines in \(\mathbb{C}^r\) that are pairwise equi-angular with angle \(\arccos (r+1)^{-1/2}\).