No label defined (Q4028429)

[For the entire collection see Zbl 0748.00018.] A finite generalized quadrangle \((GQ)\) is an incidence structure \(S=(P,B,I)\) of objects called points and lines resp., and with a symmetric point line incidence relation \(I\) satisfying the following axioms: (i) each point is incident with \(1+t\) lines \((t\geq 1)\) and two distinct points are incident with at most one line; (ii) each line is incident with \(1+s\) points \((s\geq 1)\) and two distinct lines are incident with at most one point; (iii) for each point \(x\) and each line \(L\), \(xIL\), there exists a unique pair \((y,M)\in P\times B\) such that \(xIMIyIL\). The pair \((s,t)\) is called the order of \(S\). In this paper the authors study some subsets \(K\) of points in a \(GQ\), in particular, those meeting every line in just \(n\) points or in none at all, (i.e.: sets of class \((0,n))\), simply called here \((0,n)\)-sets. A (0,1)-set \(K\) in a \(GQ\) is called a \(k\)-arc, where \(k\) is the size of \(K\). A \(k\)-arc with no external lines is called an ovoid. For the size \(k\) of an arbitrary subset \(K\) of points there are bounds depending on \(s\), \(t\) and on the minimum number \(n\geq 1\) of points of \(K\) which are on a secant line (i.e. a line with a nonempty intersection with \(K)\) of \(GQ\). In this paper, after giving the above mentioned bounds on \(k\), the authors build some general theory of \((0,n)\)-sets in \(GQs\) and a general method of constructing \((0,n)\)-sets, using ovoids with common intersection, is exhibited. The details are too involved to be described here; the reader may found them in the original paper.