A thin near hexagon with 50 points (Q1395817)

In this article the authors solve a problem asked by \textit{B. De Bruyn} [J. Comb. Theory, Ser. A 102, 283-292 (2003; Zbl 1029.51006)], concerning the existence of a near hexagon satisfying that (1) every line is incident with exactly two points; (2) every two points at distance \(2\) are contained in a good quad; and (3) at least one local space is an affine plane of order \(3\). It is shown in loc. cit. that such a near hexagon \(S\) should have \(50\) points. In the first part of the paper under review the authors analyse the structure of \(S\), by classifying its points (``nice'', ``elusive'', ``good'' and ``bad'') and lines. Then they construct a near hexagon with the properties (1)--(3), thus proving that such an object exists and is unique.