Small complete caps in three-dimensional Galois spaces (Q2447808)

A \textit{cap} in \(\mathrm{PG}(3,q)\) is a set of points, no three collinear. A cap is called \textit{complete} when it is not contained in a larger cap. One of the problems that has been studied regarding caps is the problem of the size of the smallest complete caps in \(\mathrm{PG}(3,q)\). \textit{G. Pellegrino} presented in [Rend. Circ. Mat. Palermo (2) 47, No. 1, 141--168 (1998; Zbl 0911.51014)] a construction of small complete caps in \(\mathrm{PG}(3,q)\), \(q\) odd, of size approximately \(q\sqrt{q/2}\). The authors describe in this article a gap in the proof of the completeness of the caps constructed by Pellegrino [loc. cit.]. They then show how the method of G. Pellegrino can be transformed into a new method for constructing caps in the affine space \(\mathrm{AG}(3,q)\) where these caps consist of a small number of planar conics. It is shown how the completeness problem for these caps in \(\mathrm{AG}(3,q)\) can be reduced into a 2-dimensional problem. The obtained methods and information are then used in computer searches for constructing complete caps in \(\mathrm{AG}(3,q)\), \(q\) odd and \(q\leq 29989\), of size at most \(a_q(q+1)+2\), where \(a_q\) depends on \(q\) and is at most 10 up to a small number of values of \(q\) for which these computer searches did not lead to this result.