Complete arcs on the parabolic quadric Q\((4,q)\) (Q2469465)

The authors prove that the finite generalized quadrangle \(Q(4,q)\) contains no complete (i.e.\ maximal) arc of size \(q^2-1\) if \(q= p^h\) with an odd prime \(p\) and \(h>1\) (such arcs do exist for \(q = 3, 5, 7, 11\); see \textit{S. De Winter} and \textit{K.~Thas} [Partial ovoids and spreads in generalized quadrangles, and related combinatorial structures (to appear)]). This yields an embedding result for subsets of the affine space \(AG(3,q)\) that determine the same set of directions (i.e.\ points at infinity).