A class of complete \(k\)-caps in \(PG(3,q)\) for \(q\) an odd prime (Q2563495)

A \(k\)-cap in a finite projective space \(PG(3,q)\) is a set of \(k\) points no three of which are collinear. Examples of maximal size are provided by elliptic quadrics. It is an interesting question to the numbers \(k\) for which complete caps (that is, caps not contained in any larger cap) exist. The authors consider this problem in the case where \(q\geq 5\) is an odd prime and for \(q=9\). For all these cases, they construct complete \(k\)-caps with \(k=(q^2+ q+ 6)/3\) or \(k=(q^2+ 2q+6)/3\); they also give a complete 21-cap in \(PG(3,7)\). These new caps provide the smallest currently known examples of complete caps.