Triple factorisations of the general linear group and their associated geometries. (Q486207)

The authors investigate so called triple factorizations of groups. The interest in such factorizations goes back to papers on \(ABA\)-groups, for example results due to \textit{D. G. Higman} and \textit{J. E. McLaughlin} [Ill. J. Math. 5, 382-397 (1961; Zbl 0104.14702)]. They also play some role in coding theory. In this paper the authors deal with the group \(G=\mathrm{GL}(V)\), \(V\) a vector space of dimension \(d\geq 2\) over a field in characteristic \(p\). Hence let \(U\) be an \(m\)-dimensional subspace and \(W\) be a \(k\)-dimensional subspace, \(G_U\), \(G_W\) the stabilizer of \(U\) and \(W\), respectively. Let \(j=\dim(U\cap W)\). Then the authors prove that \(G=G_UG_WG_U\) if and only if \(\max(0,m+k-n)\leq j\leq\frac{k}{2}+\max(0,m-\frac{n}{2})\). This is related to similar factorizations of the Weyl group \(\Sigma_d\). In a further result the authors consider stabilizers of direct sums. Hence if \(G=\mathrm{GL}_{2k}(q)\), \(P_U\) is the stabilizer of an \(m\)-space \(U\) and \(P_Q\) the stabilizer of a decomposition \(V=V_1\oplus V_2\), where \(\dim(U\cap V_i)=k_i\), \(i=1,2\), \(k_1\leq k_2\). Then \(G=P_UP_Q P_U\) if and only if \(3k_2\leq k+1+m+k_1\) and \((q,m,k,k_1,k_2)\neq(2,1,1,0,0)\) (the latter is a real exception). These factorizations lead to nice coset geometries which are called collinearly complete by the authors.