Calculating the dimension of the universal embedding of the symplectic dual polar space using languages (Q2215457)

The classic Cremona Richmond configuration is used as a motivating \(n=2\) example of a symplectic dual polar space, \(\mathcal{G}_n\), formed by the set of all totally isotropic subspaces of dimension \(n-1\) of a symplectic space \(V\) of dimension \(2n\) over \(\mathbb{F}_2\). The main result of this paper is a construction of a bijection between the set of all subspaces of a fixed \(n\)-dimensional maximal isotropic subspace of \(V\) and the set of words, in so-called standard order, of length \(n\) formed by four letters. This bijection yields a new proof of the \(\mathcal{G}_n\) universal embedding dimension formula. Despite the fact that the paper is quite long and technical, it is a pleasure to read, and the dedicated reader is rewarded by comprehending new relationships between different interpretations of the integer sequence \((2, 5, 15, 51, 187, \ldots)\).