The probability of spanning a classical space by two non-degenerate subspaces of complementary dimension

Abstract

Let $n,n'$ be positive integers and let $V$ be an $(n+n')$-dimensional vector space over a finite field $\mathbb{F}$ equipped with a non-degenerate alternating, hermitian or quadratic form. We estimate the proportion of pairs $(U, U')$, where $U$ is a non-degenerate $n$-subspace and $U'$ is a non-degenerate $n'$-subspace of $V$, such that $U+ U'=V$ (usually such spaces $U$ and $U'$ are not perpendicular). The proportion is shown to be at least $1-c/|\mathbb{F}|$ for some constant $c\leqslant 2$ in the symplectic or unitary cases, and $c<3$ in the orthogonal case.