On the minimum blocking semioval in PG(2,11)

DOI10.1007/S00022-023-00686-2MaRDI QIDQ6076423zbMATH OpenOpenAlexFDO

Authors Jeremy M. Dover

Publication date 21 September 2023

Published in Journal of Geometry (Search for Journal in Brave)

Full work available at URL https://arxiv.org/abs/2305.04907

zbMATH Keywords

blocking semiovalblocking setsemioval

Mathematics Subject Classification ID

General block designs in finite geometry (51E05) Blocking sets, ovals, (k)-arcs (51E21)

Abstract: A blocking semioval is a set of points in a projective plane that is both a blocking set (i.e., every line meets the set, but the set contains no line) and a semioval (i.e., there is a unique tangent line at each point). The smallest size of a blocking semioval is known for all finite projective planes of order less than 11; we investigate the situation in PG(2,11).

Review text

A blocking semioval in a projective plane is a point set which is simultaneously a blocking set and a semi-oval. That is, a set of points \(S\) in \(\Pi\) such that every line of \(\Pi\) contains at least one point of \(S\) and such that every point of \(S\) lies on exactly one tangent line to \(S\). In this paper, the author continues his study of semiovals in projective planes by focussing on the case \(\mathrm{PG}(2,11)\). A known lower bound gives 25 for the minumum size of a blocking semioval in \(\mathrm{PG}(2,11)\). This paper is devoted to ruling out the existence of a blocking set meeting that bound. A series of theoretical results, proved using combinatorial tools, are employed to make the problem amenable to be tackled by a computer. This leads to the result that there are no blocking semiovals of size 25 in \(\mathrm{PG}(2,11)\). Interestingly, during the computer search, the author found a blocking semioval of size 26. This example and its automorphism group are described at the end of the paper.

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Cites work

• A lower bound on blocking semiovals
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Cited in

(13)

• A lower bound on blocking semiovals
• Two families of blocking semiovals
• On bisecants of Rédei type blocking sets and applications
• Blocking semiovals in \(PG\)(2,7) and beyond
• A minimum blocking semioval in \(\mathrm{PG}(2, 9)\)
• On the structure of semiovals of small size
• A computer search for minimal blocking sets in PG(2,q).
• Some new results on small blocking semiovals
• Blocking semiovals containing conics
• Classification of minimal blocking sets in \(\mathrm{PG}(2,11)\) with a nontrivial automorphism group
• Generalizing blocking semiovals in finite projective planes
• On blocking semiovals with an 8-secant in projective planes of order 9
• On the spectrum of sizes of semiovals contained in the Hermitian curve

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