Sixteen-dimensional locally compact translation planes admitting \(SU_4\mathbb{C}\cdot S\mathbb{U}_2\mathbb{C}\) or \(SU_4\mathbb{C}\cdot S\mathbb{L}_2\mathbb{R}\) as a group of collineations (Q5954691)

Let \(P\) be a 16-dimensional compact projective plane whose group \(\Gamma\) of automorphisms contains a closed connected subgroup fixing a line but no points and having dimension at least 35. Such a ``near-homogeneous'' plane always is a translation plane [see \textit{H. Salzmann}, Adv. Geom. 1, No. 2, 145-155 (2001; Zbl 1002.51011)]. Moreover, the author [Geom. Dedicata 83, No. 1-3, 105-117 (2000; Zbl 0973.51011)] has shown that \(\Gamma\) contains a subgroup locally isomorphic to \(\text{SU}_4 {\mathbb C} \cdot \text{SU}_2 {\mathbb C}\), \(\text{SU}_4 {\mathbb C} \cdot \text{SL}_2 {\mathbb R}\), or \(\text{SL}_2 {\mathbb H} \cdot \text{SU}_2 {\mathbb C}\); the translation planes admitting an action of the latter group are known [the reviewer, Sixteen-dimensional locally compact translation planes admitting \(\text{SL}_2 {\mathbb H}\) as a group of collineations; submitted]. The paper under review completes the classification: All translation planes whose automorphism group contains a subgroup \(\Delta\) locally isomorphic to \(\text{SU}_4 {\mathbb C} \cdot \text{SU}_2 {\mathbb C}\) or \(\text{SU}_4 {\mathbb C} \cdot \text{SL}_2 {\mathbb R}\) are determined explicitly. The classical plane over the Cayley numbers (octonions) belongs to both families, but there are a vast number of other planes; their description depends on a continuous function from an open intervall into a \(1\)-sphere. It turns out that all these planes are near-homogeneous (because the representation of \(\Delta\) on the affine point space \({\mathbb R} ^{16}\) is the tensor product of the natural complex representations of \(\text{SU}_4 {\mathbb C}\) on \({\mathbb C} ^4\) and \(\text{SU}_2 {\mathbb C}\), respectively, \(\text{SL}_2 {\mathbb R}\) on \({\mathbb C} ^2\)). Moreover, the dimension of the full group of automorphisms equals 35, or the plane is isomorphic to the octonion plane.