Generalized quadrangles, flocks, and BLT sets (Q1177955)

The author gives some explanation for a remarkable coincidence, observed by Thas, between certain generalized quadrangles constructed by the author and flocks of cones and translation planes. For his construction of generalized quadrangles, the author needs a group \(Q\) of order \(q^{1+4}\), where \(q\) is a prime power, and some particular set \(F\) of \(q+1\) subgroups of order \(q^ 2\) in \(Q\). The center of \(Q\) has order \(q\), and the commutator map equippes \(\bar Q=Q/Z(Q)\), which has the structure of a 4-dimensional \(GF(q)\)-vector space, with a nondegenerate symplectic form. The elements of \(F\) map into a set \(\bar F\) of \(q+1\) singular 2-spaces in \(\bar Q\). The author shows that, under the Klein correspondence, \(\bar F\) forms a BLT-set in the 5-dimensional orthogonal geometry, i.e., a set of \(q+1\) nonsingular points, such that no singular point is perpendicular to at least 3 of these points. In particular he shows that for \(q\) odd any BLT-set arises in this way. To any BLT-set there is a way to construct a translation plane. It is shown how such a translation plane obtained from \(F\) embeds in the generalized quadrangle constructed from \(Q\) and \(F\).