Characterising elliptic solids of \(q ( 4 , q )\), \(q\) even (Q2174604)

This paper belongs to the field of characterizing geometrically defined objects in finite projective spaces in purely combinatorial terms. The authors show that a set \(\mathcal E\) of solids (or hyperplanes) of \(\mathrm{PG}(4,q)\), \(q > 2\) even, consists precisely of the solids meeting a nonsingular quadric in an elliptic quadric if and only \(\mathcal E\) has the following properties: Every point of \(\mathrm{PG}((4, q)\) lies in either \(0\), \(\frac{1}{2} (q^3 - q^2 )\) or \(\frac{1}{2} q^3\) solids of \(\mathcal E\), every plane of \(\mathrm{PG}(4,q)\) lies in either \(0\), \(\frac{1}{2} q\) or \(q\) solids of \(\mathcal E\), and there exists a line of \(\mathrm{PG}(4,q)\) that lies in exactly \(\frac{1}{2}q(q+1)\) solids of \(\mathcal E\). If one omits the last condition, then \(\mathcal E\) may also consist of the solids that are disjoint from a hyperoval.