Fractional dimensions in semifields of odd order (Q717152)

Let \(D\) be a finite semifield and \(E\) a subsemifield. The dimension of \(D\) relative to \(E\) is defined by \(\log_{|E|}|D|\). This number is always rational. If it is not an integer, then it is called fractional. This notion can be carried over to the corresponding affine planes. Notice that there exist planes with transcendental dimension over some subplane. This cannot happen for affine translation planes. If a semifield \(D\) contains at least one subsemifield over which the dimension is fractional, then \(D\) itself is called fractional. The authors prove: Let \(K\) be a finite field with \(|K|=q\), \(V\) a \(K\)-vector space of odd dimension \(n\geq 5\) and let \(S\subseteq \mathrm{GL} (V,K)\cup\{0\}\) be an additive, \(K\)-invariant spread set of \(V\). If \(S\) contains an element such that its order is divisible by a \(q\)-primitive divisor of \(q^{n-2}-1\), then \(V\) becomes a fractional semifield, where the multiplication is derived from the spread set in the usual way. Indeed, the field \(E\) of order \(q^{2}\) is sitting inside \(V\), therefor \(\log_{|E|}|V|=n/2\). The results are carried over to the corresponding translation planes. Various examples are given.