On polar spaces of infinite rank (Q1021331)

A \textit{polar space} is a partial linear space \(\mathcal{S}\) (point set \(P\), line set \(L\)) such that \(x^\perp\), the set of all points collinear with \(x\), meets every line non-trivially for every \(x \in P\). A subset \(X\) of \(P\) is called a \textit{subspace} if it contains every line that meets \(X\) in at least two points and it is called \textit{singular} if any two of its points are collinear. The \textit{rank} of \(\mathcal{S}\) is infinite, if every chain of maximal singular subspaces in \(\mathcal{S}\) is of infinite cardinality. Finally, \(\mathcal{S}\) is said to be \textit{non-degenerate} if \(P^\perp\), the intersection of all sets \(x^\perp\) with \(x \in P\), is empty. The text circles around problems and results emerging from the author's failed attempt to prove a separation property for non-degenerate polar spaces of infinite rank: Strong separation property: For every maximal singular subspace \(M\) there exists a maximal singular subspace \(M'\) such that \(M \cap M' = \emptyset\). Weak separation property: There exists at least one pair of mutually disjoint maximal singular subspaces. Both properties hold for non-degenerate polar spaces of finite rank. Whether they are true in non-degenerate polar spaces of infinite rank remains an open question. A partial result states that if \(M\) is a maximal singular subspace of \(\mathcal{S}\) that contains a subspace \(X\) such that \(\text{cod}_M(X^{\perp\perp}) \leq \aleph_0\) then there exists a maximal singular subspace \(M\) of \(\mathcal{S}\) such that \(M \cap M' = X^{\perp\perp}\). The author also presents some examples of non-degenerate polar spaces of infinite rank all of which satisfy the weak separation property. Moreover, the article contains a comprehensive treatment of polar spaces of infinite rank in general (with a wealth of original results) and their oddities as compared to polar spaces of finite rank.