Shear planes (Q1337126)

A stable plane is a non-degenerate linear space \(\mathbb{M}= (M,{\mathcal M})\) in which the point set \(M\) and the set of lines \({\mathcal M}\) are equipped with non-discrete Hausdorff topologies such that the geometric operations of joining two points by a line and of intersecting two lines in a point are continuous on their domains of definition and such that the set of pairs of intersecting lines is open in \({\mathcal M}\times {\mathcal M}\). If the point space \({\mathcal M}\) of a stable plane \(\mathbb{M}= (M,{\mathcal M})\) is locally compact, of finite dimension and connected, then a fundamental result of \textit{R. Löwen} [J. Reine Angew. Math. 343, 108-122 (1983; Zbl 0524.57011)], obtained with methods from algebraic topology, says that \(M\) and \({\mathcal M}\) are of the same dimension \(2n\) where \(n=1, 2, 4\) or 8 like in the classical compact projective planes over the real alternative division algebras \(\mathbb{R}\), \(\mathbb{C}\), \(\mathbb{H}\) or \(\mathbb{O}\). \textit{M. Stroppel} [Result. Math. 23, No. 3-4, 387-397 (1993; Zbl 0784.51013)] investigated \(2n\)-dimensional stable planes that admit a connected locally compact abelian group of collineations \(\Delta\). One possibility for \(\Delta\) is that \(\Delta\) is quasi-perspective, that is, each point orbit is contained in a line. Then \(\dim \Delta\leq 2n\). If, in addition, \(\Delta\cong \mathbb{R}^{2n}\), then \(\delta\) fixes at most one point and the stabilizers \(\Delta_ x\) for \(x\in M\) not fixed by \(\Delta\) are \(n\)- dimensional linear subspaces of \(\Delta\) and form a partial spread of \(\Delta\). The author considers stable planes of this kind. A shear plane \(\mathbb{M}= (M; {\mathcal M})\) is a \(2n\)-dimensional stable plane that admits a closed quasi-perspective collineation group \(\Gamma\cong \mathbb{R}^{2n}\) such that \(\Gamma\) acts fixed-point free on \(M\). Examples of shear planes are obtained by removing the translation centre from a \(2n\)-dimensional projective dual translationplane. More generally, let \(h\) be a hyperplane in \(\mathbb{R}^{2n+1}\) and let \(P_ m(h)\) and \(P_ m (\mathbb{R}^{2n+1})\) denote the Grassmannian manifold of all \(m\)-dimensional subspaces of \(h\) and \(\mathbb{R}^{2n+1}\) respectively. Let \({\mathcal P} \subseteq P_{n-1} (h)\) be a partial spread which is an \(n\)-dimensional submanifold of \(P_{n-1} (h)\). Then the collection of all \(n\)-dimensional subspaces of \(\mathbb{R}^{2n+1}\) that intersect \(h\) in a member of \({\mathcal P}\) equipped with the induced topology of \(P_ n (\mathbb{R}^{2n+1})\) as point space and \({\mathcal P}\) together with all 1-dimensional subspaces of \(\mathbb{R}^{2n+1}\) not contained in \(h\) as line set (equipped with a suitable topology) and inclusion as incidence relation in a \(2n\)-dimensional stable plane, denoted by \({\mathcal S}_ 2 ({\mathcal P})\). The transvections of \(\mathbb{R}^{2n+1}\) that fix \(h\) pointwise form a quasi-perspective group \(\Gamma= \Gamma({\mathcal P})\cong \mathbb{R}^{2n}\) of collineations of \({\mathcal S}_ 2 ({\mathcal P})\). Hence \({\mathcal S}_ 2 ({\mathcal P})\) is a shear plane. The author shows that every shear plane is isomorphic to a shear plane of the form \({\mathcal S}_ 2 ({\mathcal P})\). The partial spread \({\mathcal P}\) can be identified in the group \(\Gamma\) with the collection of all point- stabilizers. Two shear planes \({\mathcal S}_ 2 ({\mathcal P}_ 1)\) and \({\mathcal S}_ 2 ({\mathcal P}_ 2)\) are isomorphic if and only if there is a linear isomorphism of the corresponding hyperplanes that maps the partial spread \({\mathcal P}_ 1\) to the partial spread \({\mathcal P}_ 2\). In particular, the full collineation group of a shear plane \({\mathcal S}_ 2 ({\mathcal P})\) can be identified with the collection of all linear automorphisms of \(\mathbb{R}^{2n+1}\) that leave \({\mathcal P}\) invariant unless \({\mathcal S}_ 2 ({\mathcal P})\) if one of the classical affine translation planes over \(\mathbb{R}\), \(\mathbb{C}\), \(\mathbb{H}\) or \(\mathbb{O}\). Furthermore, a simple necessary condition for a shear plane \({\mathcal S}_ 2 ({\mathcal P})\) to be projectively embeddable into a compact projective plane of the same dimension is given. This condition says that the closure of \({\mathcal P}\) in \(P_{n-1} (h)\) is again a partial spread. In the final section the author modifies constructions of 4-dimensional translation planes by D. Betten and of 8- and 16-dimensional translation planes by \textit{H. Hähl} [Monatsh. Math. 97, 23-45 (1984; Zbl 0526.51013) and Geom. Dedicata 36, No. 2/3, 181-197 (1990; Zbl 0719.51011)] to obtain new shear planes. The above mentioned criterion is used to show that many of the examples obtained are not projectively embeddable. Moreover, the dimensions of the collineation groups of some of these planes are determined, which yields new examples of planes with low-dimensional collineation groups.