A group theoretic characterization of Buekenhout-Metz unitals in PG\((2,q^2)\) containing conics (Q442329)

A unital in \(PG(2,q^2)\) is a set \({\mathcal U}\) of \(q^3+1\) points meeting every line in \(PG(2,q^2)\) in either \(1\) or \(q+1\) points. Let \(q=p^n\). The authors prove that \({\mathcal U}\) is a Buekenhout-Metz unital containing conics with \(q\) odd if and only if there exists a point \( A\) of \({\mathcal U}\) such that the stabilizer group of \(A\), in the group of projectivities of \(PG(2,q^2)\) stabilizing \({\mathcal U}\), contains an elementary abelian \(p\)-group of order \(q^2\) with no non-identity elations.