PROJECTIVE RING LINES AND

FINITE GENERALIZED
QUADRANGLES
(FPGQT, Tatransk a Lomnica, August 2, 2007)
METOD SANIGA
Astronomical Institute of the Slovak Academy of Sciences
SK-05960 Tatransk a Lomnica, Slovak Republic
(msaniga@astro.sk)
AN OVERVIEW OF THE TALK
1. Introduction
2. Rudiments of Ring Theory
Denition of a(n Associative) Ring
Units, Zero-Divisors, Characteristic, Fields
Ideals, Jacobson radical, Quotient Rings
Mappings: Ring Homo- and Isomorphism
Examples of (Finite) Rings:
Abstract and Concrete/Illustrative
3. Projective Line over a Ring
GL(2, R) and Pair Admissibility
Projective Line over a Ring R, PR(1)
Neighbour/Distant Relations
The Fine Structure of PR(1): Points of Type I and II
Illustrative Examples of Finite Projective Ring Lines
Classication of Projective Ring Lines up to Order 63
4. Finite Generalized Quadrangles
Denition, Order, Grids and Dual Grids
Some Distinguished Subsets: Perp-sets, Ovoids, Triads, etc.
Geometric Hyperplanes and Associated Veldkamp Spaces
Smallest Generalized Quadrangle GQ(2,2) and Its Veldkamp Space
GQ(2,2) and the Projective Line over the Full Two-by-Two Matrix Ring
with Entries in GF(2)
GQ(2,2) and Icosahedron
5. References
1. Introduction
Finite projective geometries, ring lines and generalized quadrangles in
particular, represent a well-studied, important and venerable branch of
algebraic geometry.
Although these geometries are endowed with a number of fascinating
properties having no analogues in the classics, it may well come as
a surprise that they have so far successfully evaded the attention of
physicists and scholars of other natural sciences.
The purpose of the talk is to reveal the beauty of these objects.
2. Rudiments of Ring Theory
Denition of a(n Associative) Ring
A ring is a set R (or, more specically, (R, +, )) with two binary op-
erations, usually called addition (+) and multiplication (), such that R
is
an abelian group under addition and
a semigroup under multiplication,
with multiplication being both left and right distributive over addition. (It
is customary to denote multiplication in a ring simply by juxtaposition,
using ab in place of a b.)
A ring in which the multiplication is commutative is a commutative ring.
A ring R with a multiplicative identity 1 such that 1r = r1 = r for all
r R is a ring with unity.
A ring containing a nite number of elements is a nite ring; the num-
ber of its elements is called its order.
In what follows the word ring will always mean
a commutative ring with unity
unless stated otherwise.
Units, Zero-Divisors, Characteristic, Fields
An element r of the ring R is a unit (or an invertible element) if there
exists an element r
1
such that rr
1
= r
1
r = 1. This element, uniquely
determined by r, is called the multiplicative inverse of r. The set of units
forms a group under multiplication.
A (non-zero) element r of R is said to be a (non-trivial) zero-divisor if
there exists s ,= 0 such that sr = rs = 0; 0 itself is regarded as trivial
zero-divisor.
An element of a nite ring is either a unit or a zero-divisor. A unit
cannot be a zero-divisor.
A ring in which every non-zero element is a unit is a eld; nite (or Galois)
elds, often denoted by GF(q), have q elements and exist only for q = p
n
,
where p is a prime number and n a positive integer.
The smallest positive integer s such that s1 = 0, where s1 stands for
1 +1 +1 +. . . +1 (s times), is called the characteristic of R; if s1 is never
zero, R is said to be of characteristic zero.
Ideals, Jacobson radical, Quotient Rings
An ideal 1 of R is a subgroup of (R, +) such that a1 = 1a 1 for all
a R. Obviously, 0 and R are trivial ideals; in what follows the word
ideal will always mean proper ideal, i.e. an ideal dierent from either of
the two. A unit of R does not belong to any ideal of R; hence, an ideal
features solely zero-divisors.
An ideal of the ring R which is not contained in any other ideal but R
itself is called a maximal ideal.
If an ideal is of the form Ra for some element a of R it is called a principal
ideal, usually denoted by a).
A very important ideal of a ring is that represented by the intersection
of all maximal ideals; this ideal is called the Jacobson radical.
A ring with a unique maximal ideal is a local ring.
Let R be a ring and 1 one of its ideals. Then R R/1 = a+1 [ a R
together with addition (a + 1) + (b + 1) = a + b + 1 and multiplication
(a +1)(b +1) = ab +1 is a ring, called the quotient, or factor, ring of R
with respect to 1; if 1 is maximal, then R is a eld.
Mappings: Ring Homo- and Isomorphism
A mapping : R S between two rings (R, +, ) and (S, , ) is a ring
homomorphism if it meets the following constraints:
(a + b) = (a) (b),
(a b) = (a) (b) and
(1) = 1 for any two elements a and b of R.
From this denition it follows that (0) = 0, (a) = (a), a unit of R
is sent into a unit of S and the set of elements a R [ (a) = 0, called
the kernel of , is an ideal of R.
A canonical, or natural, map : R R R/1 dened by (r) = r + 1
is clearly a ring homomorphism with kernel 1.
A bijective (i.e., one-to-one and onto) ring homomorphism is called a ring
isomorphism; two rings R and S are called isomorphic, denoted by R

= S,
if there exists a ring isomorphism between them.
Examples of (Finite) Commutative Rings:
Abstract
A polynomial ring, R[x], viz. the set of all polynomials in one variable x
and with coecients in a ring R.
The ring R

that is a (nite) direct product of rings, R

R
1
R
2
. . .
R
n
, where both addition and multiplication are carried out componentwise
and where the individual rings need not be the same.
Examples of (Finite) Commutative Rings:
Concrete/Illustrative
GF(2): Order 2, Characteristic 2, a eld
0 1
0 0 1
1 1 0
0 1
0 0 0
1 0 1
Note that 1 + 1 = 0 implies +1 = 1, which is valid for any ring of
characteristic two.
GF(4 = 2
2
)

= GF(2)[x]/x
2
+x +1): Order 4, Characteristic 2, a eld
0 1 x x + 1
0 0 1 x x + 1
1 1 0 x + 1 x
x x x + 1 0 1
x + 1 x + 1 x 1 0
0 1 x x + 1
0 0 0 0 0
1 0 1 x x + 1
x 0 x x + 1 1
x + 1 0 x + 1 1 x
GF(2)[x]/x
2
): Order 4, Characteristic 2, not a eld
0 1 x x + 1
0 0 1 x x + 1
1 1 0 x + 1 x
x x x + 1 0 1
x + 1 x + 1 x 1 0
0 1 x x + 1
0 0 0 0 0
1 0 1 x x + 1
x 0 x 0 x
x + 1 0 x + 1 x 1
A unique maximal (and also principal) ideal: 1
x
= 0, x its a local
ring. Both GF(4 = 2
2
) and GF(2)[x]/x
2
) have the same addition table.
Z
4
: Order 4, Characteristic 4, not a eld
0 1 2 3
0 0 1 2 3
1 1 2 3 0
2 2 3 0 1
3 3 0 1 2
0 1 2 3
0 0 0 0 0
1 0 1 2 3
2 0 2 0 2
3 0 3 2 1
A unique maximal (and also principal) ideal: 1
x
= 0, 2 its a local
ring. Both Z
4
and GF(2)[x]/x
2
) have the same multiplication table.
GF(2)[x]/x(x + 1))

= GF(2) GF(2):
Order 4, Characteristic 2, not a eld
0 1 x x + 1
0 0 1 x x + 1
1 1 0 x + 1 x
x x x + 1 0 1
x + 1 x + 1 x 1 0
0 1 x x + 1
0 0 0 0 0
1 0 1 x x + 1
x 0 x x 0
x + 1 0 x + 1 0 x + 1
Two maximal (and principal as well) ideals: 1
x
= 0, x and 1
x+1
=
0, x +1 it is not a local ring. Each element except 1 is a zero-divisor.
Has the same addition table as both GF(4) and GF(2)[x]/x
2
).
R

Z
4
Z
4
: Order 16, Characteristic 4, not a eld
a b c d e f g h i j k l m n p q
a a b c d e f g h i j k l m n p q
b b c d a h k n i j e l m f p q g
c c d a b i l p j e h m f k q g n
d d a b c j m q e h i f k l g n p
e e h i j f g a k l m n p q b c d
f f k l m g a e n p q b c d h i j
g g n p q a e f b c d h i j k l m
h h i j e k n b l m f p q g c d a
i i j e h l p c m f k q g n d a b
j j e h i m q d f k l g n p a b c
k k l m f n b h p q g c d a i j e
l l m f k p c i q g n d a b j e h
m m f k l q d j g n p a b c e h i
n n p q g b h k c d a i j e l m f
p p q g n c i l d a b j e h m f k
q q g n p d j m a b c e h i f k l
a b c d e f g h i j k l m n p q
a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a
b a b c d a a a b c d b c d b c d
c a c a c a a a c a c c a c c a c
d a d c b a a a d c b d c b d c b
e a a a a e f g e e e f f f g g g
f a a a a f a f f f f a a a f f f
g a a a a g f e g g g f f f e e e
h a b c d e f g h i j k l m n p q
i a c a c e f g i e i l f l p g p
j a d c b e f g j i h m l k q p n
k a b c d f a f k l m b c d k l m
l a c a c f a f l f l c a c l f l
m a d c b f a f m l k d c b m l k
n a b c d g f e n p q k l m h i j
p a c a c g f e p g p l f l i e i
q a d c b g f e q p n m l k j i h
.
From these tables it follows that a and h are, respectively, the addition and
multiplication identities (0 and 1) of the ring,
R

= h 1, j, n, q (1)
is the set of units and
R

= a 0, b, c, d, e, f, g, i, k, l, m, p (2)
that of zero-divisors. The latter comprises two maximal ideals,
1
1
= a, c, f, l, b, d, k, m, (3)
1
2
= a, c, f, l, e, g, i, p, (4)
yielding a non-trivial Jacobson radical
= 1
1
1
2
= a, c, f, l, (5)
Full Matrix Ring M
2
(GF(2))) and Its Subrings
(Order 16, Characteristic 2, Non-commutative)
The full two-by-two matrix ring with GF(2)-valued coecients,
R = M
2
(GF(2))
_

_
_
_
_


_
_
_ [ , , , GF(2)
_

_
. (6)
In an explicit form:
UNITS: Invertible matrices (i. e., matrices with non-zero determinant). They
are of two distinct kinds: those which square to 1,
1
_
_
_
1 0
0 1
_
_
_ , 2
_
_
_
0 1
1 0
_
_
_ , 9
_
_
_
1 1
0 1
_
_
_ , 11
_
_
_
1 0
1 1
_
_
_ , (7)
and those which square to each other,
12
_
_
_
0 1
1 1
_
_
_ , 13
_
_
_
1 1
1 0
_
_
_ . (8)
ZERO-DIVISORS: Matrices with vanishing determinant. These are also of
two dierent types: nilpotent, i. e. those which square to zero,
3
_
_
_
1 1
1 1
_
_
_ , 8
_
_
_
0 1
0 0
_
_
_ , 10
_
_
_
0 0
1 0
_
_
_ , 0
_
_
_
0 0
0 0
_
_
_ , (9)
and idempotent, i. e. those which square to themselves,
4
_
_
_
0 0
1 1
_
_
_ , 5
_
_
_
1 0
1 0
_
_
_ , 6
_
_
_
0 1
0 1
_
_
_ , 7
_
_
_
1 1
0 0
_
_
_ , (10)
14
_
_
_
0 0
0 1
_
_
_ , 15
_
_
_
1 0
0 0
_
_
_ . (11)
The structure of this full matrix ring can be well understood from the
accompanying colour gure featuring its most important subrings, namely
those isomorphic to
GF(4) (yellow),
GF(2)[x]/x
2
) (red),
GF(2) GF(2) (pink) and to
the non-commutative ring of 8/6 type (green).
Irrespectively of colour, the dashed/dotted lines join elements represented
by upper/lower triangular matrices, while the solid lines link elements rep-
resented by diagonal parity preserving matrices.
It is worth mentioning a very interesting symmetry of the picture. Namely,
the dpp ring of 8/6 type (solid green) incorporates both the upper and
lower triangular matrix rings isomorphic to GF(2)GF(2), while, in turn,
the dpp GF(2) GF(2) ring (solid pink) is the intersection of the upper
and lower triangular matrix rings of 8/6 type.
It is also to be noted that GF(4) has only one representative, the dpp
set, whereas each of the remaining types have three distinct (namely up-
per and lower triangular, and dpp) representatives. The shaded circles
denote non-trivial idempotents.
0
5 7
15 14
4 6
10 3 8
13 12
11 2 9
1
M (GF(2))
2
zd
u
Figure 1: The subrings of M
2
(GF(2)).
3. Projective Line over a Ring
GL(2, R) and Pair Admissibility
Given
a ring R with unity and
GL(2, R), the general linear group of
invertible two-by-two matrices with entries in R,
a pair (, ) R
2
is called admissible over R if there exist , R
such that
_
_
_


_
_
_ GL(2, R). (12)
or, equivalently,
det
_
_
_


_
_
_ R

. (13)
Projective Line over a Ring R, PR(1)
The projective line over R, PR(1):
the set of classes of ordered pairs (, ),
where
is a unit and
(, ) is admissible.
Neighbour/Distant Relations
Such a line carries two non-trivial, mutually complementary relations of
neighbour and distant.
In particular, its two distinct points X:=(, ) and Y :=(, ) are
called neighbour (or, parallel) if
_
_
_


_
_
_ / GL(2, R) det
_
_
_


_
_
_ RR

(14)
and distant otherwise, i. e., if
_
_
_


_
_
_ GL(2, R) det
_
_
_


_
_
_ R

. (15)
The neighbour relation is
reexive (every point is obviously neighbour to itself) and
symmetric (i. e., if X is neighbour to Y then Y is neighbour to X
too), but, in general,
not transitive (i. e., X being neighbour to Y and Y being neighbour
to Z does not necessarily mean that X is neighbour to Z).
Given a point of PR(1), the set of all neighbour points to it will be called
its neighbourhood.
Obviously, if RL is a eld then neighbour simply reduces to identical
(and, hence, distant to dierent); for Eq. (8) reduces to
det
_
_
_


_
_
_ = = 0 (16)
which indeed implies
= and = . (17)
The Fine Structure of PR(1): Points of Type I and II
PR(1) comprises, in general, two distinct groups of points.
Points of Type I: the points represented by coordinates where
at least one entry is a unit.
It is easy to verify that for any nite commutative ring this number is
always equal to the sum of the total number of elements of the ring and
the number of its zero-divisors; for, indeed,
if is a unit then we can always select in such a way
that (, ) (1,

), where

R and
if only is a unit then (, ) (

, 1), where

RR

.
Points of Type II: the points represented by coordinates where
both entries are zero-divisors.
These points exist only if the ring has two or more maximal ideals and
their number depends on the properties and interconnection between these
ideals. For (, ), with , being both zero-divisors of R, to represent
a point of PR(1), Eq. (7) requires
det
_
_
_


_
_
_ = R

. (18)
This constraint cannot be met if R contains just a single maximal ideal 1,
because 1 implies 1, 1 implies 1, which implies that
the whole expression 1 and, so, is not a unit.
Illustrative Examples of Finite Projective Ring Lines
R = GF(q):
the line contains q (total # of elements) + 1 (# of zero-divisors) points,
any two of them being distant.
R = Z
4
:
the line contains 4+2 = 6 points, forming three pairs of neighbours, namely
(page 9):
(1, 0) and (1, 2)
(0, 1) and (2, 1)
(1, 1) and (1, 3)
R = GF(2)[x]/x(x + 1))

= GF(2) GF(2):
the line is endowed with nine points (page 9), out of which there are
seven of the rst kind,
(1, 0), (1, x), (1, x + 1), (1, 1),
(0, 1), (x, 1), (x + 1, 1),
and two of the second kind,
(x, x + 1), (x + 1, x).
The neighbourhoods of three distinguished pairwise distant points

U: (1, 0),

V : (0, 1) and

W: (1, 1) here read

U :

U
1
: (1, x),

U
2
: (1, x + 1),

U
3
: (x, x + 1),

U
4
: (x + 1, x), (19)

V :

V
1
: (x, 1),

V
2
: (x + 1, 1),

V
3
: (x, x + 1),

V
4
: (x + 1, x), (20)
and

W :

W
1
: (1, x),

W
2
: (1, x + 1),

W
3
: (x, 1),

W
4
: (x + 1, 1). (21)
From these expressions, and the fact that GL(2, R) acts transitively on
triples of mutually distant points, we nd that
the neighbourhood of any point of this line comprises four distinct
points,
the neighbourhoods of any two distant points have two points in
common (which again implies non-transitivity of the neighbour relation)
and
the neighbourhoods of any three mutually distant points are disjoint
as illustrated in the gure; note that in this case there exist no Jacobson
points, i. e. the points belonging solely to a single neighbourhood, due to
the trivial character of the Jacobson radical,

= 0.
R = Z
4
Z
4
: the line contains altogether thirty-six points;
twenty-eight of Type I
(1, 0), (1, b), (1, c), (1, d), (1, e), (1, f), (1, g), (1, i), (1, k), (1, l), (1, m), (1, p),
(0, 1), (b, 1), (c, 1), (d, 1), (e, 1), (f, 1), (g, 1), (i, 1), (k, 1), (l, 1), (m, 1), (p, 1),
(1, 1), (1, j), (1, n), (1, q); (22)
and eight of Type II
(e, b), (e, k), (i, b), (i, k), (b, e), (k, e), (b, i), (k, i); (23)
The three distinguished, pairwise distant points of the line, viz. U :=
(1, 0), V := (0, 1), W := (1, 1), have the following neighbourhoods
U : (1, b), (1, c), (1, d), (1, e), (1, f), (1, g), (1, i), (1, k), (1, l), (1, m), (1, p),
(e, b), (e, k), (i, b), (i, k), (b, e), (k, e), (b, i), (k, i) (24)
V : (b, 1), (c, 1), (d, 1), (e, 1), (f, 1), (g, 1), (i, 1), (k, 1), (l, 1), (m, 1), (p, 1),
(e, b), (e, k), (i, b), (i, k), (b, e), (k, e), (b, i), (k, i) (25)
W : (1, b), (1, d), (1, e), (1, g), (1, i), (1, k), (1, m), (1, p),
(b, 1), (d, 1), (e, 1), (g, 1), (i, 1), (k, 1), (m, 1), (p, 1),
(1, j), (1, n), (1, q). (26)
One thus sees that
each neighbourhood features nineteen points and has three Jacobson
points (underlined),
the neighbourhoods pairwise overlap in eight points,
have no common element if considered altogether and
there exists no point of the line that would be simultaneously distant
to all the three distinguished points.
Employing again the fact that GL(2, R) acts transitively on triples of mu-
tually distant points, these properties can be extended to any triple of
mutually distant points.
A nice conic representation of the line exhibiting all these properties is
given in the following gure, where every bullet represents two distinct
points of the line, while each of the three small circles represents three
Jacobson points.
R = GF(2) GF(2) GF(2):
The line possesses twenty-seven points, twelve of Type II; the neighbour-
hood of any point of the line features eighteen distinct points, the neigh-
bourhoods of any two distant points share twelve points and the neigh-
bourhoods of any three mutually distant points have six points in common
as depicted in the gure.
As in the case of the lines dened over GF(2) GF(2) and Z
4
Z
4
,
the neighbour relation is not transitive; however, a novel feature, not en-
countered in the previous cases, is here a non-zero overlapping between the
neighbourhoods of three pairwise distant points, which can be attributed
to the existence of three maximal ideals of the ring.
(Every small bullet represents two distinct points of the line, while the big
bullet at the bottom stands for as many as six dierent points.)
Omitting three distinguished points, the remaining twenty-four points of
the line split into two sets of twelve exhibiting intriguing structures in terms
of the neighbour/distant relation as illustrated in the gure.
P
1
(M
2
(GF(2)))
Checking rst for admissibility and then grouping the admissible pairs left-
proportional by a unit into equivalence classes (of cardinality six each), we
nd that P
1
(M
2
(GF(2))) possesses altogether 35 points, with the following
representatives of each equivalence class:
(1, 1), (1, 2), (1, 9), (1, 11), (1, 12), (1, 13),
(1, 0), (1, 3), (1, 4), (1, 5), (1, 6), (1, 7), (1, 8), (1, 10), (1, 14), (1, 15),
(0, 1), (3, 1), (4, 1), (5, 1), (6, 1), (7, 1), (8, 1), (10, 1), (14, 1), (15, 1),
(3, 4), (3, 10), (3, 14), (5, 4), (5, 10), (5, 14), (6, 4), (6, 10), (6, 14).(27)
One can easily recognize that the representatives in the rst row of the last
equation have both entries units (1 being, obviously, unity/multiplicative
identity), those of the second and third row have one entry unit(y) and the
other a zero-divisor, whilst all pairs in the last row feature zero-divisors in
both the entries.
Specic Subconguration of P
1
(M
2
(GF(2))), aka GQ(2,2)
Let consider two distant points of the line. Taking into account the above-
mentioned three-distant-transitivity of GL(2, R), we can take these, with-
out any loss of generality, to be the points U := (1, 0) and V := (0, 1).
Next we pick up all those points of the line which are
either simultaneously distant or
simultaneously neighbor
to U and V . We nd the following six points
C
1
= (1, 1), C
2
= (1, 2), C
3
= (1, 9),
C
4
= (1, 11), C
5
= (1, 12), C
6
= (1, 13), (28)
to belong to the rst family, whereas the second family comprises the fol-
lowing nine points
C
7
= (3, 4), C
8
= (3, 10), C
9
= (3, 14),
C
10
= (5, 4), C
11
= (5, 10), C
12
= (5, 14),
C
13
= (6, 4), C
14
= (6, 10), C
15
= (6, 14). (29)
One readily checks that the points of our special subset of P
1
(M
2
(GF(2)))
are related with each other as shown in Table 2; from this table it can
readily be discerned that
to every point of the conguration there are six neighbor and eight
distant points, and that
the maximum number of pairwise neighbor points is three.
Hence, our subconguration is nothing but the
generalized quadrangle of order two, GQ(2,2),
in disguise!
Table 1: The distant and neighbor (+ and , respectively) relation between the points of the conguration.
The points are arranged in such a way that the last nine of them (i. e., C
7
to C
15
) form the projective line over
GF(2) GF(2).
C
1
C
2
C
3
C
4
C
5
C
6
C
7
C
8
C
9
C
10
C
11
C
12
C
13
C
14
C
15
C
1
+ + + + + + + +
C
2
+ + + + + + + +
C
3
+ + + + + + + +
C
4
+ + + + + + + +
C
5
+ + + + + + + +
C
6
+ + + + + + + +
C
7
+ + + + + + + +
C
8
+ + + + + + + +
C
9
+ + + + + + + +
C
10
+ + + + + + + +
C
11
+ + + + + + + +
C
12
+ + + + + + + +
C
13
+ + + + + + + +
C
14
+ + + + + + + +
C
15
+ + + + + + + +
Classication of Projective Ring Lines up to Order 63
Line Cardinalities of Points Representative
Type Rings
Tot TpI 1N 2N 3N Jcb MD
63/15 80 78 16 2 0 2 8 GF(7) GF(9)
63/27 96 90 32 6 0 14 4 GF(7) [Z
9
or GF(3)[x]/x
2
]
63/39 128 102 64 26 6 4 4 GF(7) GF(3) GF(3)
62/32 96 94 33 2 0 29 3 GF(2) GF(31)
61/1 62 62 0 0 0 0 62 GF(61)
60/36 120 96 59 24 6 5 4 GF(3) GF(5) GF(4)
60/44 144 104 83 40 12 15 3 GF(3) GF(5) [Z
4
or GF(2)[x]/x
2
]
60/52 216 112 155 104 60 7 3 GF(3) GF(5) GF(2) GF(2)
59/1 60 60 0 0 0 0 60 GF(59)
58/30 90 88 31 2 0 27 3 GF(2) GF(29)
57/21 80 78 22 2 0 16 4 GF(3) GF(19)
56/14 72 70 15 2 0 1 8 GF(7) GF(8)
56/32 96 88 39 8 0 23 3 GF(7) Z
8
, GF(7) GF(2)[x]/x
3
, . . .
56/38 120 94 63 26 6 17 3 GF(7) GF(2) GF(4)
56/44 144 100 87 44 12 11 3 GF(7) GF(2) [Z
4
or GF(2)[x]/x
2
]
56/50 216 106 159 110 66 5 3 GF(7) GF(2) GF(2) GF(2)
55/15 72 70 16 2 0 6 6 GF(5) GF(11)
54/28 84 82 29 2 0 25 3 GF(2) GF(27)
54/36 108 90 53 18 0 17 3 GF(2) Z
27
, GF(2) GF(3)[x]/x
3
, . . .
54/38 120 92 65 28 6 15 3 GF(2) GF(3) GF(9)
54/42 144 96 89 48 18 11 3 GF(2) GF(3) [Z
9
or GF(3)[x]/x
2
]
54/46 192 100 137 92 54 7 3 GF(2) GF(3) GF(3) GF(3)
53/1 54 54 0 0 0 0 54 GF(53)
52/16 70 68 17 2 0 9 5 GF(13) GF(4)
52/28 84 80 31 4 0 23 3 GF(13) [Z
4
or GF(2)[x]/x
2
]
52/40 126 92 73 34 6 11 3 GF(13) GF(2) GF(2)
51/19 72 70 20 2 0 14 4 GF(3) GF(17)
50/26 78 76 27 2 0 23 3 GF(2) GF(25)
50/30 90 80 39 10 0 19 3 GF(2) [Z
25
or GF(5)[x]/x
2
]
50/34 108 84 57 24 6 15 3 GF(2) GF(5) GF(5)
49/1 50 50 0 0 0 0 50 GF(49)
49/7 56 56 6 0 0 6 8 Z
49
, GF(7)[x]/x
2

49/13 64 62 14 2 0 0 8 GF(7) GF(7)

48/18 68 66 19 2 0 13 4 GF(3) GF(16)
48/24 80 72 31 8 0 7 4 GF(3) [GF(4)[x]/x
2
or Z
4
[x]/x
2
+x + 1]
48/30 100 78 51 22 6 3 4 GF(3) GF(4) GF(4)
48/32 96 80 47 16 0 15 3 GF(3) Z
16
, GF(3) Z
4
[x]/x
2
, . . .
48/34 108 82 59 26 6 13 3 GF(3) GF(2) GF(8)
48/36

120 84 71 36 12 11 3 GF(3) GF(4) [Z

4
or GF(2)[x]/x
2
]
48/40 144 88 95 56 24 7 3 GF(3) Z
4
Z
4
, GF(3) GF(2) Z
8
, . . .
48/42 180 90 131 90 54 5 3 GF(3) GF(2) GF(2) GF(4)
48/44 216 92 167 124 84 3 3 GF(3) GF(2) GF(2) [Z
4
or GF(2)[x]/x
2
]
48/46 324 94 275 230 186 1 3 GF(3) GF(2) GF(2) GF(2) GF(2)
47/1 48 48 0 0 0 0 48 GF(47)
46/24 72 70 25 2 0 21 3 GF(2) GF(23)
45/13 60 58 14 2 0 4 6 GF(5) GF(9)
45/21 72 66 26 6 0 8 4 GF(5) [Z
9
or GF(3)[x]/x
2
]
45/29 96 74 50 22 6 2 4 GF(5) GF(3) GF(3)
44/14 60 58 15 2 0 7 5 GF(11) GF(4)
44/24 72 68 27 4 0 19 3 GF(11) [Z
4
or GF(2)[x]/x
2
]
44/34 108 78 63 30 6 9 3 GF(11) GF(2) GF(2)
Line Cardinalities of Points Representative
Type Rings
Tot TpI 1N 2N 3N Jcb MD
43/1 44 44 0 0 0 0 44 GF(43)
42/30 96 72 57 24 6 11 3 GF(2) GF(3) GF(7)
41/1 42 42 0 0 0 0 42 GF(41)
40/12 54 52 13 2 0 3 6 GF(5) GF(8)
40/24 72 64 31 8 0 15 3 GF(5) Z
8
, GF(5) GF(2)[x]/x
3
, . . .
40/28 90 68 49 22 6 11 3 GF(5) GF(2) GF(4)
40/32 108 72 67 36 12 7 3 GF(5) GF(2) [Z
4
or GF(2)[x]/x
2
]
40/36 162 76 121 86 54 3 3 GF(5) GF(2) GF(2) GF(2)
39/15 56 54 16 2 0 10 4 GF(3) GF(13)
38/20 60 58 21 2 0 17 3 GF(2) GF(19)
37/1 38 38 0 0 0 0 38 GF(37)
36/12 50 48 13 2 0 5 5 GF(4) GF(9)
36/18 60 54 23 6 0 5 4 GF(4) [Z
9
or GF(3)[x]/x
2
]
36/24a 80 60 43 20 6 1 4 GF(4) GF(3) GF(3)
36/20 60 56 23 4 0 15 3 [Z
4
or GF(2)[x]/x
2
] GF(9)
36/24b 72 60 35 12 0 11 3 [Z
4
or GF(2)[x]/x
2
] [Z
9
or GF(3)[x]/x
2
]
36/28a 90 64 53 26 6 7 3 GF(2) GF(2) GF(9)
36/28b 96 64 59 32 12 7 3 [Z
4
or GF(2)[x]/x
2
] GF(3) GF(3)
36/30 108 66 71 42 18 5 3 GF(2) GF(2) [Z
9
or GF(3)[x]/x
2
]
36/32 144 68 107 76 48 3 3 GF(2) GF(2) GF(3) GF(3)
35/11 48 46 12 2 0 2 6 GF(5) GF(7)
34/18 54 52 19 2 0 15 3 GF(2) GF(17)
33/13 48 46 14 2 0 8 4 GF(3) GF(11)
32/1 33 33 0 0 0 0 33 GF(32)
32/11 45 43 12 2 0 0 5 GF(4) GF(8)
32/16 48 48 15 0 0 15 3 Z
32
, GF(2)[x]/x
5
, . . .
32/17 51 49 18 2 0 14 3 GF(2) GF(16)
32/18 54 50 21 4 0 13 3 GF(8) [Z
4
or GF(2)[x]/x
2
]
32/20 60 52 27 8 0 11 3 GF(4) Z
8
, GF(2) GF(4)[x]/x
2
, . . .
32/23 75 55 42 20 6 8 3 GF(2) GF(4) GF(4)
32/24 72 56 39 16 0 7 3 GF(2) Z
16
, Z
4
Z
8
, . . .
32/25 81 57 48 24 6 6 3 GF(2) GF(2) GF(8)
32/26

90 58 57 32 12 5 3 GF(2) GF(4) [Z
4
or GF(2)[x]/x
2
]
32/28 108 60 75 48 24 3 3 GF(2) GF(2) Z
8
, GF(2) Z
4
Z
4
, . . .
32/29 135 61 102 74 48 2 3 GF(2) GF(2) GF(2) GF(4)
32/30 162 62 129 100 72 1 3 GF(2) GF(2) GF(2) [Z
4
or GF(2)[x]/x
2
]
32/31 243 63 210 180 150 0 3 GF(2) GF(2) GF(2) GF(2) GF(2)
31/1 32 32 0 0 0 0 32 GF(31)
30/22 72 52 41 20 6 7 3 GF(2) GF(3) GF(5)
29/1 30 30 0 0 0 0 30 GF(29)
28/10 40 38 11 2 0 3 5 GF(7) GF(4)
28/16 48 44 19 4 0 11 3 GF(7) [Z
4
or GF(2)[x]/x
2
]
28/22 72 50 43 22 6 5 3 GF(7) GF(2) GF(2)
27/1 28 28 0 0 0 0 28 GF(27)
27/9 36 36 8 0 0 8 4 Z
27
, GF(3)[x]/x
3
, . . .
27/11 40 38 12 2 0 6 4 GF(3) GF(9)
27/15 48 42 20 6 0 2 4 GF(3) [Z
9
or GF(3)[x]/x
2
]
27/19 64 46 36 18 6 0 4 GF(3) GF(3) GF(3)
26/14 42 40 15 2 0 11 3 GF(2) GF(13)
25/1 26 26 0 0 0 0 26 GF(25)
25/5 30 30 4 0 0 4 6 Z
25
, GF(5)[x]/x
2

25/9 36 34 10 2 0 0 6 GF(5) GF(5)

Line Cardinalities of Points Representative
Type Rings
Tot TpI 1N 2N 3N Jcb MD
24/10 36 34 11 2 0 5 4 GF(3) GF(8)
24/16 48 40 23 8 0 7 3 GF(3) Z
8
, GF(3) GF(2)[x]/x
3
, . . .
24/18 60 42 35 18 6 5 3 GF(3) GF(2) GF(4)
24/20 72 44 47 28 12 3 3 GF(3) GF(2) [Z
4
or GF(2)[x]/x
2
]
24/22 108 46 83 62 42 1 3 GF(3) GF(2) GF(2) GF(2)
23/1 24 24 0 0 0 0 24 GF(23)
22/12 36 34 13 2 0 9 3 GF(2) GF(11)
21/9 32 30 10 2 0 4 4 GF(3) GF(7)
20/8 30 28 9 2 0 1 5 GF(5) GF(4)
20/12 36 32 15 4 0 7 3 GF(5) [Z
4
or GF(2)[x]/x
2
]
20/16 54 36 33 18 6 3 3 GF(5) GF(2) GF(2)
19/1 20 20 0 0 0 0 20 GF(19)
18/10 30 28 11 2 0 7 3 GF(2) GF(9)
18/12 36 30 17 6 0 5 3 GF(2) [Z
9
or GF(3)[x]/x
2
]
18/14 48 32 29 16 6 3 3 GF(2) GF(3) GF(3)
17/1 18 18 0 0 0 0 18 GF(17)
16/1 17 17 0 0 0 0 17 GF(16)
16/4 20 20 3 0 0 3 5 Z
4
[x]/x
2
+x + 1, GF(4)[x]/x
2

16/7 25 23 8 2 0 0 5 GF(4) GF(4)

16/8 24 24 7 0 0 7 3 Z
16
, Z
4
[x]/x
2
, GF(2)[x]/x
4
, . . .
16/9 27 25 10 2 0 6 3 GF(2) GF(8)
16/10

30 26 13 4 0 5 3 GF(4) [Z
4
or GF(2)[x]/x
2
]
16/12 36 28 19 8 0 3 3 Z
4
Z
4
, GF(2) Z
8
, . . .
16/13 45 29 28 16 6 2 3 GF(2) GF(2) GF(4)
16/14 54 30 37 24 12 1 3 GF(2) GF(2) [Z
4
or GF(2)[x]/x
2
]
16/15 81 31 64 50 36 0 3 GF(2) GF(2) GF(2) GF(2)
15/7 24 22 8 2 0 2 4 GF(3) GF(5)
14/8 24 22 9 2 0 5 3 GF(2) GF(7)
13/1 14 14 0 0 0 0 14 GF(13)
12/6 20 18 7 2 0 1 4 GF(3) GF(4)
12/8 24 20 11 4 0 3 3 GF(3) [Z
4
or GF(2)[x]/x
2
]
12/10 36 22 23 14 6 1 3 GF(3) GF(2) GF(2)
11/1 12 12 0 0 0 0 12 GF(11)
10/6 18 16 7 2 0 3 3 GF(2) GF(5)
9/1 10 10 0 0 0 0 10 GF(9)
9/3 12 12 2 0 0 2 4 Z
9
, GF(3)[x]/x
2

9/5 16 14 6 2 0 0 4 GF(3) GF(3)

8/1 9 9 0 0 0 0 9 GF(8)
8/4 12 12 3 0 0 3 3 Z
8
, GF(2)[x]/x
3
, . . .
8/5 15 13 6 2 0 2 3 GF(2) GF(4)
8/6 18 14 9 4 0 1 3 GF(2) [Z
4
or GF(2)[x]/x
2
]
8/7 27 15 18 12 6 0 3 GF(2) GF(2) GF(2)
7/1 8 8 0 0 0 0 8 GF(7)
6/4 12 10 5 2 0 1 3 GF(2) GF(3)
5/1 6 6 0 0 0 0 6 GF(5)
4/1 5 5 0 0 0 0 5 GF(4)
4/2 6 6 1 0 0 1 3 Z
4
, GF(2)[x]/x
2

4/3 9 7 4 2 0 0 3 GF(2) GF(2)

3/1 4 4 0 0 0 0 4 GF(3)
2/1 3 3 0 0 0 0 3 GF(2)
4. FINITE GENERALIZED QUADRANGLES
Denition, Order, Grids and Dual Grids
A nite generalized quadrangle of order (s, t), usually denoted GQ(s, t),
is an incidence structure S = (P, B, I), where P and B are disjoint (non-
empty) sets of objects, called respectively points and lines, and where I is
a symmetric point-line incidence relation satisfying the following axioms:
(i) each point is incident with 1 +t lines (t 1) and two distinct points
are incident with at most one line;
(ii) each line is incident with 1 + s points (s 1) and two distinct lines
are incident with at most one point; and
(iii) if x is a point and L is a line not incident with x, then there exists
a unique pair (y, M) P B for which xIMIyIL; from these axioms it
readily follows that [P[ = (s + 1)(st + 1) and [B[ = (t + 1)(st + 1).
It is obvious that there exists a point-line duality with respect to which
each of the axioms is self-dual. Interchanging points and lines in S thus
yields a generalized quadrangle S
D
of order (t, s), called the dual of S.
If s = t, S is said to have order s. A generalized quadrangle of order
(s, 1) is called a grid and that of order (1, t) a dual grid. A generalized
quadrangle with both s > 1 and t > 1 is called thick.
Some Distinguished Subsets: Perp-sets, Ovoids, Triads, etc.
Given two points x and y of S one writes x y and says that x and
y are collinear if there exists a line L of S incident with both.
For any x P denote x

= y P[y x and note that x x

;
obviously, x

= 1+s+st. Given an arbitrary subset A of P, the perp(-set)

of A, A

, is dened as A

=

x

[x A and A

:= (A

.
A triple of pairwise non-collinear points of S is called a triad; given any
triad T, a point of T

is called its center and we say that T is acentric,

centric or unicentric according as [T

[ is, respectively, zero, non-zero or

features just a single point.
An ovoid of a generalized quadrangle S is a set of points of S such that
each line of S is incident with exactly one point of the set; hence, each
ovoid contains st + 1 points.
Geometric Hyperplanes and Associated Veldkamp Spaces
The concept of crucial importance is a geometric hyperplane H of a point-
line geometry (P, L), which is a proper subset of P such that each line of
meets H in one or all points.
For = GQ(s, t), one can check that H is one of the following three
kinds:
(i) the perp-set of a point x, x

;
(ii) a (full) subquadrangle of order (s, t

), t

< t; and
(iii) an ovoid.
Finally, we introduce the notion of the Veldkamp space of a point-line
incidence geometry (P, L), 1().
1() is the space in which
(i) a point is a geometric hyperplane of and
(ii) a line is the collection H
1
H
2
of all geometric hyperplanes H of such
that H
1

H
2
= H
1

H = H
2

H or H = H
i
(i = 1, 2), where H
1
and H
2
are distinct points of 1().
If = S, from the preceding paragraph we learn that the points of 1(S)
are, in general, of three dierent types.
Smallest Generalized Quadrangle GQ(2,2) and Its Veldkamp Space
The smallest thick GQ is obviously the one with s = t = 2, dubbed
the doily. This quadrangle has a number of interesting representations of
which we mention the most important two.
One, frequently denoted as W
3
(2) or simply W(2), is in terms of the
points of PG(3, 2) (i. e., the three-dimensional projective space over the
Galois eld with two elements) together with the totally isotropic lines
with respect to a symplectic polarity.
The other, usually denoted as Q(4, 2), is in terms of points and lines of
a parabolic quadric in PG(4, 2).
From the preceding section we readily get that W(2) is endowed with 15
points/lines, each line contains three points and, dually, each point is on
three lines; moreover, it is a self-dual object, i. e., isomorphic to its dual.
W(2) features all the three kinds of hyperplanes, of the following cardinal-
ities:
15 perp-sets, x

, seven points each;

10 grids (of order (2, 1)), nine points each; and
six ovoids, ve points each
as depicted in the following gure.
Figure 2: The three kinds of geometric hyperplanes of W(2). The points of the quadrangle are represented by small
circles and its lines are illustrated by the straight segments as well as by the segments of circles; note that not every
intersection of two segments counts for a point of the quadrangle. The upper panel shows the points perp-sets (yellow
bullets), the middle panel grids (red bullets) and the bottom panel ovoids (blue bullets); the use of dierent colouring
will become clear later. Each picture except that in the bottom right-hand corner stands for ve dierent
hyperplanes, the four other being obtained from it by its successive rotations through 72 degrees around the center of
the pentagon.
The quadrangle exhibits two distinct kinds of triads, viz. unicentric and
tricentric.
A point of W(2) is the center of four distinct unicentric triads (Figure,
left); hence, the number of such triads is 4 15 = 60.
Tricentric triads always come in complementary pairs, one represent-
ing the centers of the other, and each such pair is the complement of a grid
of W(2) (Figure, right); hence, the number of such triads is 2 10 = 20.
A unicentric triad is always a subset of an ovoid, which is never the case
for a tricentric triad; the latter, in graph-combinatorial terms, representing
a complete bipartite graph on six vertices.
Figure 3: Left: The four distinct unicentric triads (grey bullets) and their common center (black bullet); note that
the triads intersect pairwise in a single point and their union covers fully the centers perp-set. Right: A grid (red
bullets) and its complement as a disjoint union of two complementary tricentric triads (black and grey bullets); the
two triads are also seen to comprise a dual grid (of order (1, 2)).
Now, we have enough background information at hand to reveal the struc-
ture of the Veldkamp space of our doily, 1(W(2)).
From the denition, we easily see that 1(W(2)) consists of 31 points of
which 15 are represented/generated by single-point perp-sets, 10 by grids
and six by ovoids.
The lines of 1(W(2)) feature three points each and are of ve distinct
types, as illustrated in Figure.
From the properties of W(2) and its triads as discussed above it read-
ily follows that the number of the lines of type one to ve is 60, 20, 15, 45
and 15, respectively, totalling 155.
Hence, 1(W(2)) has the same number of points (31) and lines (155) as
PG(4, 2), the four-dimensional projective space over the Galois eld of two
elements; this is not a coincidence, as the two spaces are, in fact, isomorphic
to each other.
Figure 4: The ve dierent kinds of the lines of V(W(2)), each being uniquely determined by the properties of its
core-set (black bullets). Note that the yellow hyperplanes (i. e., perp-sets) occur in each type, and yellow is also the
colour of two homogeneous (i. e., endowed with only one kind of a hyperplane) types (2nd and 3rd row). It is also
worth mentioning that the cardinality of core-sets is an odd number not exceeding ve. The three hyperplanes of any
line are always in such relation to each other that their union comprises all the points of W(2).
GQ(2,2) and the Projective Line over the Full Two-by-Two Matrix
Ring with Entries in GF(2)
Already shown.
There exists a perfect parity between the three kinds of the geometric hy-
perplanes of the generalized quadrangle of order two and the three kinds of
the projective lines over the rings of four elements and characteristic two
embedded in our sub-conguration of P
1
(M
2
(GF(2))), as summarized in
Table.
GQ Ovoid Perp-SetX Grid
PL P
1
(GF(4)) P
1
(GF(2)[x]/x
2
)) P
1
(GF(2) GF(2))
GQ(2,2) and Icosahedron
Sylwesters Syntheme-Duad Geometry on a Six-Letter Set
A duad is an unordered pair ij, i ,= j with i, j 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6
A syntheme is a set of three duads ij, kl, mn partitioning the six-letter
set, i.e. with i, j, k, l, m, n being distinct.
Sylwesters syntheme-duad geometry with duads as points and synthemes
as lines is ismorphic to GQ(2, 2).
Icosahedron a Platonic solid with 30 edges, 20 faces and 12 vertices
A representation of GQ(2, 2) on the icosahedron:
Six-letter set Set of six axes connecting opposite vertices (gure left)
Points of GQ(2, 2) as pairs of opposite edges of the icosahedron (gure
right)
Figure 5:
One can identify of the three kinds of a hyperplane of GQ(2, 2) with the
three kinds of a symmetry axis of the icosahedron, namely
per-sets with two-fold (edges),
grids with three-fold (faces), and
ovoids with ve-fold (vertices) symmetry axes (gure).
Figure 6:
5. References
Blunck A, Havlicek H. Projective representations I: Projective lines over
a ring. Abh Math Sem Univ Hamburg 2000;70:28799.
Havlicek H. Divisible designs, Laguerre geometry, and beyond. Quaderni
del Seminario Matematico di Brescia 2006;11:163. A preprint available
from: http://www.geometrie.tuwien.ac.at/havlicek/dd-laguerre.pdf).
Veldkamp FD. Geometry over rings. In: Buekenhout F, editor. Hand-
book of incidence geometry. Amsterdam: Elsevier; 1995. p. 103384.
Herzer A. Chain geometries. In: Buekenhout F, editor. Handbook of
incidence geometry. Amsterdam: Elsevier; 1995. p. 781842.
Saniga M, Planat M, Kibler MR, Pracna P. A classication of the pro-
jective lines over small rings. Chaos, Solitons & Fractals 2007;33:1095-
1102.
Payne SE, and Thas JA. Finite Generalized Quadrangles. Pitman:
BostonLondonMelbourne; 1984.
Buekenhout F, and Cohen AM. Diagram Geometry (Chapter 10.2).
Springer: New York; 2007 (to appear). Preprints of separate chapters
can be found at http://www.win.tue.nl/amc/buek/
Ronan MA. Embeddings and hyperplanes of discrete geometries. Eu-
ropean J Combin 1987;8:179185.