On the cylinder conjecture (Q670210)

Let $AG(3,q)$ be the affine three-dimensional space over the finite field $\mathbb{F}_q$, embedded in the projective space $\mathrm{PG}(3,q)$. A set $U\subset \mathrm{AG}(3, q)$ determines a point (direction) $T$ at infinity if $T$ is collinear with two distinct points $R, S\in U$. \par In this paper, the authors deal with the so called \textit{strong cylinder conjecture} and present other weaker versions of it. \begin{itemize} \item[--] The \textit{strong cylinder conjecture}: Any set $S\subset \mathrm{PG}(3,p)$, $p$ a prime, of size $p^2$ intersecting each plane in $0\pmod p$ points is a cylinder, i.e. a set of points on $p$ parallel lines. \item[--] The \textit{weak cylinder conjecture}: Let $S$ be a set of $p^2$ points of $\mathrm{AG}(3, p)$ not determining at least $p$ directions. Then $S$ is a cylinder. \item[--] The \textit{weaker cylinder conjecture}: Let $S$ be a set of $p^2$ points of $\mathrm{AG}(3, p)$, such that the number of non-determined directions is at least $p + 1$. Then $S$ is a cylinder. \end{itemize} In particular, they associate a weight function with a set of points satisfying the conditions of the cylinder conjecture and derive properties of this weight function using the Rédei polynomial of the point set. They also use connections with the number of non-determined directions and, with the help of an exhaustive computer search, they prove the weaker cylinder conjecture for $p\leq 13$.