The doubly-transitive focal-spreads (Q692500)

A focal-spread of type \((t,k)\) is a partition of the vector space \(V(k+t,q)\) by a subspace \(L\) of dimension \(t\) over \(\mathbb{F}_q\), called the focus, and a partial \(k\)-spread of \(q^t\) different \(k\)-dimensional vector spaces over \(\mathbb{F}_q\), where \(t>k\). The only known focal-spreads arise from a construction of \textit{A. Beutelspacher} [Arch. Math. 31, 202--208 (1978; Zbl 0377.50006)]: Let \(V(t+k,q)\) be the vector space of dimension \(t+k\) over \(\mathbb{F}_q\), for \(t>k\), and let \(L\) be a subspace of dimension \(t\). Let \(V(2t,q)\) be a vector space of dimension \(2t\) containing \(V(t+k,q)\), and let \(S_t\) be a \(t\)-spread containing \(L\). Here, it is always possible to let \(S_t\) be the Desarguesian \(t\)-spread. Let \(M_t\) be a component of the \(t\)-spread \(S_t\), different from \(L\). Then \(M_t \cap V(t+k,q)\) is a subspace of \(V(t+k,q)\) of dimension \(k\), and all these intersections, together with \(L\), then lead to a focal-spread with focus \(L\). The corresponding focal-spread is called a \(k\)-cut of a \(t\)-spread. The main results of this article are as follows. First of all, the authors prove: If a focal-spread of type \((t,k)\) over \(\mathbb{F}_q\), \(q=p^r\), \(p\) prime, admits a \(p\)-group \(P\) that is normalized by a group \(\langle g \rangle\) of order a prime \(p\)-primitive divisor of \(q^t-1\), then the focal-spread is a \(k\)-cut of a Desarguesian \(t\)-spread. This then leads to the following result: Let \(\pi\) be a focal-spread of type \((t,k)\) over \(\mathbb{F}_q\), \(q^t\neq 64\), that admits a collineation group \(G\) of \(\pi\) in \(\Gamma L(t+k,q)\) that acts doubly-transitively on the partial \(k\)-spread, then there exists a Desarguesian affine plane \(\Pi\) of order \(q^t\) such that \(\pi\) arises as a \(k\)-cut of the spread of \(\Pi\).