The finite Moufang hexagons coordinatized (Q1315116)

Let \(S\) be a point-line incidence geometry (two points determine at most one line). By a flag we mean any incident point-line pair, and by an apartment we mean a nontrivial circuit consisting of six points and equally many lines. Then \(S\) is called a (finite thick) generalized hexagon of order \((s,t)\), where \(s\), \(t>1\) are integers, if the following axioms hold: i) there are \(s+1\) points incident with every line, ii) there are \(t+1\) lines incident with every point, iii) every two flags lie in a common apartment, and iv) there are no nontrivial circuits with less than six points. There are only two known classes, up to duality, of finite thick generalized hexagons. They are related to the Chevalley groups \(G_ 2(q)\) and \(^ 3D_ 4(q)\), and will be denoted by the names of the corresponding groups, namely \(G_ 2(q)\) and \(^ 3D_ 4(q)\). Both hexagons were constructed originally on the quadric \(Q^ +(7,q)\), but \(G_ 2(q)\) can be embedded in the quadric \(Q(6,q)\). In the paper under review the authors introduce a method for coordinatizing generalized hexagons, and then use this method to coordinatize \(G_ 2(q)\) and \(^ 3D_ 4(q)\). The coordinatization scheme is similar to one introduced by \textit{G. Hanssens} and the second author [Combinatorics, Proc. Int. Conf. Incidence Geom. Comb. Struct., Passo della Mondola/Italy 1986, Ann. Discrete Math. 37, 195-208 (1988; Zbl 0643.51011)] for generalized quadrangles, and yields the usual coordinates of \textit{Marshall Hall jun.} [Trans. Am. Math. Soc. 54, 229-277 (1943; Zbl 0060.32209)] when applied to projective planes, viewed as generalized 3-gons. By introducing coordinates for \(G_ 2(q)\), the authors are able to explicitly construct the Ree unital \(U_ R(q)\) on the quadric \(Q(6,q)\), where \(q=3^{2h+1}\) for some nonnegative integer \(h\), as the set of absolute points for an appropriately defined polarity. The automorphism group of \(U_ R(q)\) in \(G_ 2(q)\) is the twisted Chevalley group \(^ 2G_ 2(q)\), also denoted by \(R(q)\). Again using their coordinatization scheme, the authors explicitly construct a point stabilizer in \(R(q)\). When \(q=3\), the authors use coordinates to construct an oval (a 10-arc) in \(U_ R(3)\), and show that all ovals in \(U_ R(3)\) are isomorphic to the one constructed. The stabilizer subgroup of this oval is also computed.