Arcs in finite projective spaces (Q2187953)

An arc \(\mathcal{K}\) in a \((k-1)\)-dimensional projective space is a set of points such that any \(k\) of them span the whole space and an arc in a projective plane is called a \emph{planar arc}. An arc is called \emph{complete} if it is maximal with respect to the set-theoretical inclusion. The study of arcs dates back to the 1950s and the 1960s when Beniamino Segre published his fundamental works on finite geometry. Arcs have interesting links with other areas of mathematics too: from a coding theory point of view, they correspond to MDS codes, i.e. codes attaining the Singleton bound. In this excellent survey paper, the authors focus on large arcs in finite projective spaces. In particular, known old results and more recent theorems are unified and simplified. For instance, a general form of Segre's lemma of tangents yields a short proof of the MDS conjecture over prime fields.