Analog of a ternary ring for generalized polygons (Q2276963)

An incidence structure \(S=(P,B,I)\), where P is a set (set of points), \(B\subset 2^ P\) (set of lines) and \(I\subset P\times B\cup B\times P\) (an incidence relation) is such that (x,y)\(\in I\Leftrightarrow (x\in y\vee y\in x)\), is considered. Such incidence structure is called a generalized m-gon with parameters \(s>1\) and \(t>1\) if the following axioms are satisfied: 1) each point is incident to \(1+t\) lines; 2) each line is incident to \(1+s\) points; 3) two different points are incident to no more than one line; 4) for any two objects x and y (i.e. points or lines) there is a finite sequence of objects \(x_ 0,x_ 1,...,x_ k\) (k\(\leq m)\) such that \(x_ 0=x\), \(x_ k=y\), \(x_ i\neq x_{i+2}\) for \(0\leq i\leq k-2\) and \((x_{i-1},x_ i)\in I\) for \(1\leq i\leq k\); this sequence is unique if \(k<m\). Let U and V be arbitrary sets such that \(| U| =s\), \(| V| =t\). The only words in the alphabet \(U\cup V\) are considered in which letters from U and V are alternated, and \(W^ k_ V\) denotes the set of all such words of lengths k the first letter of which belongs to V. Two theorems are proved which imply that the family of lines of a generalized m-gon with parameters s and t is completely determined by some mapping F: \(W^ m_ V\to W_ V^{m-2}\). Thereby the axioms of a generalized m-gon can be formulated in terms of F. Such formulations for the cases \(m=3\) and \(m=4\) are presented, and the first of them shows, that the conditions for F: \(V\times U\times V\to V\) are the axioms of a ternary ring because U and V can be identified [\textit{M. Hall jun.}, Combinatorial theory (1967; Zbl 0196.024)].