In geometry, a generalized quadrangle is an incidence structure whose main feature is the lack of any triangles (yet containing many quadrangles). A generalized quadrangle is by definition a polar space of rank two. They are the generalized n-gons with n = 4 and near 2n-gons with n = 2. They are also precisely the partial geometries pg(s,t,α) with α = 1.
A generalized quadrangle is an incidence structure (P,B,I), with I ⊆ P × B an incidence relation, satisfying certain axioms. Elements of P are by definition the points of the generalized quadrangle, elements of B the lines. The axioms are the following:
(s,t) are the parameters of the generalized quadrangle. The parameters are allowed to be infinite. If either s or t is one, the generalized quadrangle is called trivial. For example, the 3x3 grid with P = {1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9} and B = {123, 456, 789, 147, 258, 369} is a trivial GQ with s = 2 and t = 1. A generalized quadrangle with parameters (s,t) is often denoted by GQ(s,t).
The smallest non-trivial generalized quadrangle is GQ(2,2), whose representation has been dubbed "the doily" by Stan Payne in 1973.
There are two interesting graphs that can be obtained from a generalized quadrangle.
If (P,B,I) is a generalized quadrangle with parameters (s,t), then (B,P,I−1), with I−1 the inverse incidence relation, is also a generalized quadrangle. This is the dual generalized quadrangle. Its parameters are (t,s). Even if s = t, the dual structure need not be isomorphic with the original structure.
There are precisely five (possible degenerate) generalized quadrangles where each line has three points incident with it, the quadrangle with empty line set, the quadrangle with all lines through a fixed point corresponding to the windmill graph Wd(3,n), grid of size 3x3, the GQ(2,2) quadrangle and the unique GQ(2,4). These five quadrangles corresponds to the five root systems in the ADE classes An, Dn, E6, E7 and E8 , i.e., the simply laced root systems. See [1] and. [2]
When looking at the different cases for polar spaces of rank at least three, and extrapolating them to rank 2, one finds these (finite) generalized quadrangles :
The generalized quadrangle derived from is always isomorphic with the dual of , and they are both self-dual and thus isomorphic to each other if and only if is even.
By using grids and dual grids, any integer z, z ≥ 1 allows generalized quadrangles with parameters (1,z) and (z,1). Apart from that, only the following parameters have been found possible until now, with q an arbitrary prime power :
In mathematics, a projective plane is a geometric structure that extends the concept of a plane. In the ordinary Euclidean plane, two lines typically intersect in a single point, but there are some pairs of lines that do not intersect. A projective plane can be thought of as an ordinary plane equipped with additional "points at infinity" where parallel lines intersect. Thus any two distinct lines in a projective plane intersect in one and only one point.
In mathematics, the concept of a projective space originated from the visual effect of perspective, where parallel lines seem to meet at infinity. A projective space may thus be viewed as the extension of a Euclidean space, or, more generally, an affine space with points at infinity, in such a way that there is one point at infinity of each direction of parallel lines.
A finite geometry is any geometric system that has only a finite number of points. The familiar Euclidean geometry is not finite, because a Euclidean line contains infinitely many points. A geometry based on the graphics displayed on a computer screen, where the pixels are considered to be the points, would be a finite geometry. While there are many systems that could be called finite geometries, attention is mostly paid to the finite projective and affine spaces because of their regularity and simplicity. Other significant types of finite geometry are finite Möbius or inversive planes and Laguerre planes, which are examples of a general type called Benz planes, and their higher-dimensional analogs such as higher finite inversive geometries.
In finite geometry, the Fano plane is the finite projective plane of order 2. It is the finite projective plane with the smallest possible number of points and lines: 7 points and 7 lines, with 3 points on every line and 3 lines through every point. The standard notation for this plane, as a member of a family of projective spaces, is PG(2, 2) where PG stands for "projective geometry", the first parameter is the geometric dimension and the second parameter is the order.
In geometry, a striking feature of projective planes is the symmetry of the roles played by points and lines in the definitions and theorems, and (plane) duality is the formalization of this concept. There are two approaches to the subject of duality, one through language and the other a more functional approach through special mappings. These are completely equivalent and either treatment has as its starting point the axiomatic version of the geometries under consideration. In the functional approach there is a map between related geometries that is called a duality. Such a map can be constructed in many ways. The concept of plane duality readily extends to space duality and beyond that to duality in any finite-dimensional projective geometry.
In mathematics, an incidence structure is an abstract system consisting of two types of objects and a single relationship between these types of objects. Consider the points and lines of the Euclidean plane as the two types of objects and ignore all the properties of this geometry except for the relation of which points are on which lines for all points and lines. What is left is the incidence structure of the Euclidean plane.
A cylinder has traditionally been a three-dimensional solid, one of the most basic of curvilinear geometric shapes. Geometrically, it can be considered as a prism with a circle as its base.
In combinatorial mathematics, a block design is an incidence structure consisting of a set together with a family of subsets known as blocks, chosen such that frequency of the elements satisfies certain conditions making the collection of blocks exhibit symmetry (balance). They have applications in many areas, including experimental design, finite geometry, physical chemistry, software testing, cryptography, and algebraic geometry.
In combinatorial mathematics, a Levi graph or incidence graph is a bipartite graph associated with an incidence structure. From a collection of points and lines in an incidence geometry or a projective configuration, we form a graph with one vertex per point, one vertex per line, and an edge for every incidence between a point and a line. They are named for Friedrich Wilhelm Levi, who wrote about them in 1942.
In mathematics, incidence geometry is the study of incidence structures. A geometric structure such as the Euclidean plane is a complicated object that involves concepts such as length, angles, continuity, betweenness, and incidence. An incidence structure is what is obtained when all other concepts are removed and all that remains is the data about which points lie on which lines. Even with this severe limitation, theorems can be proved and interesting facts emerge concerning this structure. Such fundamental results remain valid when additional concepts are added to form a richer geometry. It sometimes happens that authors blur the distinction between a study and the objects of that study, so it is not surprising to find that some authors refer to incidence structures as incidence geometries.
In mathematics and theoretical physics, twistor space is the complex vector space of solutions of the twistor equation . It was described in the 1960s by Roger Penrose and Malcolm MacCallum. According to Andrew Hodges, twistor space is useful for conceptualizing the way photons travel through space, using four complex numbers. He also posits that twistor space may aid in understanding the asymmetry of the weak nuclear force.
In mathematics, in the field of geometry, a polar space of rank n, or projective indexn − 1, consists of a set P, conventionally called the set of points, together with certain subsets of P, called subspaces, that satisfy these axioms:
In mathematics, a generalized polygon is an incidence structure introduced by Jacques Tits in 1959. Generalized n-gons encompass as special cases projective planes and generalized quadrangles. Many generalized polygons arise from groups of Lie type, but there are also exotic ones that cannot be obtained in this way. Generalized polygons satisfying a technical condition known as the Moufang property have been completely classified by Tits and Weiss. Every generalized n-gon with n even is also a near polygon.
An incidence structure consists of points , lines , and flags where a point is said to be incident with a line if . It is a partial geometry if there are integers such that:
A Maximal arc in a finite projective plane is a largest possible (k,d)-arc in that projective plane. If the finite projective plane has order q, then for a maximal arc, k, the number of points of the arc, is the maximum possible with the property that no d+1 points of the arc lie on the same line.
In mathematics, specifically projective geometry, a configuration in the plane consists of a finite set of points, and a finite arrangement of lines, such that each point is incident to the same number of lines and each line is incident to the same number of points.
Lie sphere geometry is a geometrical theory of planar or spatial geometry in which the fundamental concept is the circle or sphere. It was introduced by Sophus Lie in the nineteenth century. The main idea which leads to Lie sphere geometry is that lines should be regarded as circles of infinite radius and that points in the plane should be regarded as circles of zero radius.
In mathematics, a near polygon is an incidence geometry introduced by Ernest E. Shult and Arthur Yanushka in 1980. Shult and Yanushka showed the connection between the so-called tetrahedrally closed line-systems in Euclidean spaces and a class of point-line geometries which they called near polygons. These structures generalise the notion of generalized polygon as every generalized 2n-gon is a near 2n-gon of a particular kind. Near polygons were extensively studied and connection between them and dual polar spaces was shown in 1980s and early 1990s. Some sporadic simple groups, for example the Hall-Janko group and the Mathieu groups, act as automorphism groups of near polygons.
The Steiner conic or more precisely Steiner's generation of a conic, named after the Swiss mathematician Jakob Steiner, is an alternative method to define a non-degenerate projective conic section in a projective plane over a field.
In finite geometry, PG(3,2) is the smallest three-dimensional projective space. It can be thought of as an extension of the Fano plane. It has 15 points, 35 lines, and 15 planes. It also has the following properties:
