Subspaces of matrices with special rank properties (Q972794)

Let \(M_{m\times n}(K)\) denote the space of \(m\times n\) matrices over a field \(K\). Let \(\mathcal M\) be the subspace of \(M_{m\times n}(K)\) of dimension \(n(m-r+1)\) in which each non-zero element of \(\mathcal M\) has rank at least \(r\). The authors investigate properties of \(\mathcal M\) and enumerate the number of elements of a given rank in \(\mathcal M\) when \(K\) is finite. The upper bound for the dimension of a constant rank \(r\) subspace of \(M_{m\times n}(K)\) when \(K\) is finite is provided. Non-trivial examples (constructed by field extension) are given to show that the bound is optimal in some cases. A similar bound for the maximum dimension of a constant rank subspace of skew-symmetric matrices over a finite field is provided.