Ovale in p-adischen Ebenen. (Ovals in p-adic planes) (Q809360)

Let K be a field with a nonarchimedean valuation \(x\mapsto | x|\) with valuation ring \(A=\{x\in K:| x| \leq 1\}\), unique maximal ideal \(I=\{x\in K:| x| <1\}\), and residue class field \(F=A/I\). In this article K is a locally compact nonarchimedean value field for which the residue class field F is finite with characteristic different from 2. If P is a point of the projective plane \(P_ 2(K)\), choose coordinates (w:x:y) for P so that w,x,y\(\in A\) and at least one of w,x,y is not in I. Then \(\pi (P)=(w(mod I):x(mod I):y(mod I))\) is a well-defined plane homomorphism from \(P_ 2(K)\) to the finite plane \(P_ 2(F).\) The main result of the article characterizes continuously differentiable ovals in compact disconnected Pappian planes (as \(P_ 2(K)\) above) as closed pointsets \(\Omega\) of \(P_ 2(K)\) not contained in the union of two lines and having the property that each plane homomorphism mapping \(P_ 2(K)\) to \(P_ 2(F)\) maps \(\Omega\) to a set which is an oval, or the union of two lines, or the union of two lines minus their point of intersection, or is contained in a single line.