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Jeroen Schillewaert

Publications and source records attributed to Jeroen Schillewaert.

36 records · Page 2Linked to original sources
arXiv2021

Quasi-polar spaces

Quasi-polar spaces are sets of points having the same intersection numbers with respect to hyperplanes as classical polar spaces. Non-classical examples of quasi-quadrics have been constructed using a technique called pivoting [5]. We introduce a more general notion of pivoting, called switching, and also extend this notion to Hermitian polar spaces. The main result of this paper studies the switching technique in detail by showing that, for q >= 4, if we modify the points of a hyperplane of a polar space to create a quasi-polar space, the only thing that can be done is pivoting. The cases q = 2 and q = 3 play a special role for parabolic quadrics and are investigated in detail. Furthermore, we give a construction for quasi-polar spaces obtained from pivoting multiple times. Finally, we focus on the case of parabolic quadrics in even characteristic and determine under which hypotheses the existence of a nucleus (which was included in the definition given in [5]) is guaranteed.

math.CO↗
arXiv2020

On exceptional Lie geometries

Parapolar spaces are point-line geometries introduced as a geometric approach to (exceptional) algebraic groups. We characterize a wide class of Lie geometries as parapolar spaces satisfying a simple intersection property. In particular many of the exceptional Lie incidence geometries occur. {In an appendix, we extend our result to the locally disconnected case and discuss the locally disconnected case of some other well known characterizations.

math.CO↗
arXiv2020

Constructing highly regular expanders from hyperbolic Coxeter groups

A graph $X$ is defined inductively to be $(a_0,\dots,a_{n-1})$-regular if $X$ is $a_0$-regular and for every vertex $v$ of $X$, the sphere of radius $1$ around $v$ is an $(a_1,\dots,a_{n-1})$-regular graph. Such a graph $X$ is said to be highly regular (HR) of level $n$ if $a_{n-1}\neq 0$. Chapman, Linial and Peled studied HR-graphs of level 2 and provided several methods to construct families of graphs which are expanders "globally and locally". They ask whether such HR-graphs of level 3 exist. In this paper we show how the theory of Coxeter groups, and abstract regular polytopes and their generalisations, can lead to such graphs. Given a Coxeter system $(W,S)$ and a subset $M$ of $S$, we construct highly regular quotients of the 1-skeleton of the associated Wythoffian polytope $\mathcal{P}_{W,M}$, which form an infinite family of expander graphs when $(W,S)$ is indefinite and $\mathcal{P}_{W,M}$ has finite vertex links. The regularity of the graphs in this family can be deduced from the Coxeter diagram of $(W,S)$. The expansion stems from applying superapproximation to the congruence subgroups of the linear group $W$. This machinery gives a rich collection of families of HR-graphs, with various interesting properties, and in particular answers affirmatively the question asked by Chapman, Linial and Peled.

math.GR↗
arXiv2019

Characterising hyperbolic hyperplanes of a non-singular quadric in $PG(4,q)$

Let $H$ be a non-empty set of hyperplanes in $PG(4,q)$, $q$ even, such that every point of $PG(4,q)$ lies in either $0$, $\frac12q^3$ or $\frac12(q^3+q^2)$ hyperplanes of $ H$, and every plane of $PG(4,q)$ lies in $0$ or at least $\frac12q$ hyperplanes of $H$. Then $H$ is the set of all hyperplanes which meet a given non-singular quadric $Q(4,q)$ in a hyperbolic quadric.

math.CO↗
arXiv2018

Minimal multiple blocking sets

We prove that a minimal $t$-fold blocking set in a finite projective plane of order $n$ has cardinality at most \[\frac{1}{2} n\sqrt{4tn - (3t + 1)(t - 1)} + \frac{1}{2} (t - 1)n + t.\] This is the first general upper bound on the size of minimal $t$-fold blocking sets in finite projective planes and it generalizes the classical result of Bruen and Thas on minimal blocking sets. From the proof it directly follows that if equality occurs in this bound then every line intersects the blocking set $S$ in either $t$ points or $\frac{1}{2}(\sqrt{4tn - (3t + 1)(t - 1)} + t - 1) + 1$ points. We use this to show that for $n$ a prime power, equality can occur in our bound in exactly one of the following three cases: (a) $t = 1$, $n$ is a square and $S$ is a unital; (b) $t = n - \sqrt{n}$, $n$ is a square and $S$ is the complement of a Baer subplane; (c) $t = n$ and $S$ is equal to the set of all points except one. For a square prime power $q$ and $t \leq \sqrt{q} + 1$, we give a construction of a minimal $t$-fold blocking set $S$ in $\mathrm{PG}(2,q)$ with $|S| = q\sqrt{q} + 1 + (t - 1)(q - \sqrt{q} + 1)$. Furthermore, we obtain an upper bound on the size of minimal blocking sets in symmetric $2$-designs and use it to give new proofs of other known results regarding tangency sets in higher dimensional finite projective spaces. We also discuss further generalizations of our bound. In our proofs we use an incidence bound on combinatorial designs which follows from applying the expander mixing lemma to the incidence graph of these designs.

math.CO↗
arXiv2017

On exceptional compact homogeneous geometries of type C3

We provide a uniform framework to study the exceptional homogeneous compact geometries of type C3. This framework is then used to show that these are simply connected, answering a question by Kramer and Lytchak, and to calculate the full automorphism groups.

math.CO↗
arXiv2016

On the varieties of the second row of the split Freudenthal-Tits Magic Square

Our main aim is to provide a uniform geometric characterization of the analogues over arbitrary fields of the four complex Severi varieties, i.e.~the quadric Veronese varieties in 5-dimensional projective spaces, the Segre varieties in 8-di\-men\-sional projective spaces, the line Grassmannians in 14-dimensional projective spaces, and the exceptional varieties of type $\mathsf{E}_{6}$ in 26-dimensional projective space. Our theorem can be regarded as a far-reaching generalization of Mazzocca and Melone's approach to finite quadric Veronesean varieties. This approach takes projective properties of complex Severi varieties as smooth varieties as axioms.

math.AG↗
arXiv2015

Strongly transitive actions on Euclidean buildings

We prove a decomposition result for a group $G$ acting strongly transitively on the Tits boundary of a Euclidean building. As an application we provide a local to global result for discrete Euclidean buildings, which generalizes results in the locally compact case by Caprace--Ciobotaru and Burger--Mozes. Let $X$ be a Euclidean building without cone factors. If a group $G$ of automorphisms of $X$ acts strongly transitively on the spherical building at infinity $\partial X$, then the $G$-stabilizer of every affine apartment in $X$ contains all reflections along thick walls. In particular $G$ acts strongly transitively on $X$ if $X$ is simplicial and thick.

math.MG↗
arXiv2014

Severi's theorem for d-uple Veronese varieties

We characterize $d$-uple Veronese embeddings of finite-dimensional projective spaces. The easiest non-trivial instance of our theorem is the embedding of the projective plane in 5-dimensional projective space, a result obtained in 1901 by Severi when the underlying field is complex.

math.AG↗
arXiv2013

Coarse Equivalences of Euclidean Buildings

We prove the following rigidity results. Coarse equivalences between Euclidean buildings preserve spherical buildings at infinity. If all irreducible factors have dimension at least two, then coarsely equivalent Euclidean buildings are isometric (up to scaling factors). If in addition none of the irreducible factors is a Euclidean cone, then the isometry is unique and has finite distance from the coarse equivalence.

math.MG↗
arXiv2013

Imbrex geometries

We introduce an axiom on strong parapolar spaces of diameter 2, which arises naturally in the framework of Hjelmslev geometries. This way, we characterize the Hjelmslev-Moufang plane and its relatives (line Grassmannians, certain half-spin geometries and Segre geometries). At the same time we provide a more general framework for a Lemma of Cohen, which is widely used to study parapolar spaces. As an application, if the geometries are embedded in projective space, we provide a common characterization of (projections of) Segre varieties, line Grassmann varieties, half-spin varieties of low rank, and the exceptional variety $\mathcal{E}_{6,1}$ by means of a local condition on tangent spaces.

math.MG↗
arXiv2013

Characterizations of finite classical polar spaces by intersection numbers with hyperplanes and speces of codimension 2

In this article we show that non-singular quadrics and non-singular Hermitian varieties are completely characterized by their intersection numbers with respect to hyperplanes and spaces of codimension 2. This strongly generalizes a result by Ferri and Tallini \cite{FT} and also provides necessary and sufficient conditions for quasi-quadrics (respectively their Hermitian analogues) to be non-singular quadrics (respectively Hermitian varieties).} \section{Introduction} When Segre \cite{Segre} proved his celebrated characterization of conics ("every set of $q+1$ points in $\mathrm{PG}(2,q)$, $q$ odd, no three of which are collinear, is a conic"), he did more than proving a beautiful and interesting theorem; he in fact provided the starting point of a new direction in combinatorial geometry. In this branch of combinatorics the idea is to provide purely combinatorial characterizations of objects classically defined in an algebraic way. This article wants to contribute to this theory by proving strong characterizations of classical finite polar spaces.

math.CO↗
arXiv2013

Generalised Veroneseans

In \cite{ThasHVM}, a characterization of the finite quadric Veronesean $\mathcal{V}_{n}^{2^{n}}$ by means of properties of the set of its tangent spaces is proved. These tangent spaces form a {\em regular generalised dual arc}. We prove an extension result for regular generalised dual arcs. To motivate our research, we show how they are used to construct a large class of secret sharing schemes.

math.MG↗
arXiv2013

Small maximal partial ovoids in generalized quadrangles

A {\em maximal partial ovoid} of a generalized quadrangle is a maximal set of points no two of which are collinear. The problem of determining the smallest size of a maximal partial ovoid in quadrangles has been extensively studied in the literature. In general, theoretical lower bounds on the size of a maximal partial ovoid in a quadrangle of order $(s,t)$ are linear in $s$. In this paper, in a wide class of quadrangles of order $(s,t)$ we give a construction of a maximal partial ovoid of size at most $s \cdot \mbox{polylog}(s)$, which is within a polylogarithmic factor of theoretical lower bounds. The construction substantially improves previous quadratic upper bounds in quadrangles of order $(s,s^2)$, in particular in the well-studied case of the elliptic quadrics $Q^-(5,s)$.

math.MG↗
arXiv2012

Projective planes over quadratic 2-dimensional algebras

The split version of the Freudenthal-Tits magic square stems from Lie theory and constructs a Lie algebra starting from two split composition algebras [3, 17, 18]. The geometries appearing in the second row are Severi-Brauer varieties [20]. We provide an easy uniform axiomatization of these geometries and related ones, over an arbitrary field. In particular we investigate the entry A2 \times A2 in the magic square, characterizing Hermitian Veronese varieties, Segre varieties and embeddings of Hjelmslev planes of level 2 over the dual numbers. In fact this amounts to a common characterization of "projective planes over quadratic 2-dimensional algebras", in casu the split and non-split Galois extensions and the dual numbers.

math.AG↗
arXiv2011

On metrically complete Bruhat-Tits buildings

Metrical completeness for Bruhat-Tits buildings is a natural and useful condition. In this paper we determine which Bruhat-Tits buildings are metrically complete up to certain cases involving infinite-dimensionality and residue characteristic two.

math.MG↗
arXiv2011

The 2-Transitive Transplantable Isospectral Drums

For Riemannian manifolds there are several examples which are isospectral but not isometric, see e.g. J. Milnor [Proc. Nat. Acad. Sci. USA 51 (1964), 542]; in the present paper, we investigate pairs of domains in ${\mathbb R}^2$ which are isospectral but not congruent. All known such counter examples to M. Kac's famous question can be constructed by a certain tiling method ("transplantability") using special linear operator groups which act 2-transitively on certain associated modules. In this paper we prove that if any operator group acts 2-transitively on the associated module, no new counter examples can occur. In fact, the main result is a corollary of a result on Schreier coset graphs of 2-transitive groups.

math-ph↗