Eigenvalues of finite projective planes with an abelian Cartesian group (Q702176)

The paper deals with projective planes of order \(n\) which are \((p,L)\)-transitive for some incident point-line pair \((p,L)\). It is conjectured that the group \(G\) of \((p,L)\)-elations has to be an elementary abelian \(p\)-group. The author assumes that the eigenvalues of a suitable submatrix \({\mathbf A}\) of an incidence matrix of such a plane satisfy a certain condition. This condition is quite natural since it is always satisfied for Desarguesian planes (as shown in the paper). The main result is the assertion that for \(n\) odd, \(n\) nonsquare, \(G\) abelian this condition implies that \(G\) is a \(p\)-group. The paper also contains an interesting number theoretic condition on the characteristic polynomial of \({\mathbf A}\). This condition implies that \(G\) is an elementary abelian \(p\)-group. It remains an open question whether this condition is always satisfied, which would prove the above mentioned conjecture. Eigenvalues of \({\mathbf M}\) have been also investigated in [\textit{J. G. Thompson}, J. Algebra 191, No. 1, 265--278 (1997; Zbl 0885.05042)].