On the hyperplanes of the half-spin geometries and the dual polar spaces \(DQ(2n, \mathbb K)\) (Q2642019)

For each non-degenerate polar space \(\Pi\) of rank \(n\geq2\) there is an associated point-line geometry \(\Delta=(P,\mathcal L)\), where \(P\) are the maximal singular subspaces of \(\Pi\) and the set of lines \(\mathcal L\) are next-to-maximal singular subspaces of \(\Pi\). The incidence relation in \(\Delta\) is reverse inclusion. The geometry \(\Delta\) is called a dual polar space, see [\textit{P. J. Cameron}, Geom. Dedicata 12, 75--85 (1982; Zbl 0473.51002)]. Starting with a non-singular quadric \(Q=Q(2n,\mathbb K)\) of Witt-index \(n\geq 2\) in \(P= \text{PG}(2n,\mathbb K)\), the subspaces of \(P\) contained in \(Q\) define a polar space, whose associated dual polar space is denoted by \(DQ(2n, \mathbb K)\). On the other hand, so called half-spin geometries \(HS (2n+1,\mathbb K)\) are defined for each non-singular quadric \(Q^+=Q(2n+1, \mathbb K)\) of Witt-index of PG\((2n+1,\mathbb K)\) by using some family of generators of \(Q^+\). The author establishes a relationship between locally singular hyperplanes of \(DQ(2n,\mathbb K)\) and hyperplanes of \(HS (2n-1,\mathbb K)\) and \(HS(2n+1,\mathbb K)\). This allows for classifying all hyperplanes of \(HS(9,\mathbb K)\). A construction of locally singular hyperplanes of \(DQ(2n+2,\mathbb K)\) from locally singular hyperplanes of \(DQ(2n,\mathbb K)\) is another application of this relationship.