Constructing the Tits ovoid from an elliptic quadric (Q993646)

Given the finite, three-dimensional projective space PG\((3, q)\), \(q\) being a power of a prime, an \textit{ovoid} of PG\((3, q)\) is a set of \(q^2 + 1\) points no three of which are collinear. The only known ovoids of PG\((3, q)\) are elliptic quadrics (for all \(q\)) and the Tits ovoids (which exist only when \(q = 2^{2e - 1}, e \geq 2\)); a \textit{Tits ovoid} is the set of all absolute points of a polarity of the symplectic generalized quadrangle \(W(q)\). It is generally conjectured that these are the only families of ovoids, although the classification has in the even case been achieved only for \(q < 64\). The paper describes a remarkable connection between the two kinds of ovoids in the spaces where they both exist. This connection rests on a couple of ideas. The first is the \textit{Plane Equivalent Theorem} of Penttila and Glynn stating that an ovoid of PG\((3, q)\) is equivalent to a fan of hyperovals in a plane PG\((2, q)\). The second notion is what the author calls the \textit{translation oval derivation} -- a special case of a construction of affine planes from other affine planes by Ostrom's method of the derivation by net replacement; the basic idea is to replace a net (i.\,e., a set of parallel classes) in an affine plane by another net that is compatible with the parallel classes that were not replaced -- here by a net constructed from translation hyperovals.