Metric structures imposed on Grassmannians (Q784764)

Let \(G_k\) denote the set of \(k\)-dimensional subspaces of a vector space \(V\) over some field, \([H,B]_k :=\{U\in G_k : H\subset U\subset B \}\), where \(H\), \(B\) are subspaces of \(V\) of dimension \(k-1\), \(k+1\) respectively. The authors consider Grassmann spaces \(\mathcal P\) (a.k.a. pencil spaces), i.e. partial linear spaces with \(G_k\) as point set, and the set of all \([H,B]_k\) as line set. Adapting concepts of the theory of metric projective spaces, they succeed to impose metric structures on such Grassmann spaces. A nondegenerate symmetric bilinear form \(\xi\) on \(V\) gives the orthogonality \(\bot\) of subsets of \(V\), and the authors define the conjugacy of points by restricting the relation \(\bot\) to \(G_k \times G_k\). They define a pole \(b(l)\) for any line \(l\) as a suitable subspace of \(\mathcal P\), where the cases \(\dim V = 2k, 2k+1, >2k+1\) are treated separately. Lines \(l_1\), \(l_2\) are defined to be orthogonal when \(l_1\cap b(l_2) \neq \emptyset\). Their main result (Theorem 2.2) is, in analogy to the metric projective case, that in pencil spaces the relations of conjugacy of points, orthogonality of lines, and the point-line relation given by ``\(U\in b(l)\)'' are mutually definable.