Proof of a conjecture of Metsch (Q549254)

This article proves the following conjecture of K. Metsch, presented at the Combinatorics 2002 conference: Let \(B\) be a point set in PG\((2,q)\). Let \(P \not\in B\) and suppose that \(P\) belongs to exactly \(r\) lines meeting \(B\) in at least one point. Then the total number of lines meeting \(B\) in at least one point is at most \(1+rq+(|B|-r)(q+1-r)\). The importance of this result lies in the fact that there are point sets for which this bound is sharp. The result has also been used to give a lower bound on the number of \(s\)-spaces missing a given point set in PG\((n,q)\) and to determine the chromatic number of the \(q\)-Kneser graphs. The methods used to prove this conjecture involve polynomial techniques.