Transitive groups on the line at infinity of a finite affine plane (Q630808)

The paper contains a theorem that restricts the possible structure of an automorphism group \(G\) of a finite projective plane of order \(n\) if \(|G|\) is even and \(G\) acts as a transitive permutation group on some line of the plane. For instance, the authors prove that the order of such a plane must be a power of \(2\), or the subgroup generated by the minimal normal subgroups of \(G\) is an elementary abelian \(p\)-group where \(p\) divides \(n+1\). The authors apply the result to blocking sets: If a group of even order acts transitively on a blocking set of a finite projective plane, and it fixes one point outside the blocking set, then the plane is a dual Lüneburg plane. This extends a result by \textit{M. Biliotti} and \textit{G. Korchmáros} [Forum Math. 4, No. 6, 567--591 (1992; Zbl 0768.51008)].