Next: The orthogonal representation Up: Some geometryand Previous: Some geometryand

Linear complexes and congruences in .

Here we recall some basic notions of classical projective geometry (e.g. see [Bert1], [Bert2] and [SK]).

A linear complex of is by definition the system of all lines of whose plückerian coordinates satisfy a given homogeneous linear equation .

A linear complex consisting of all the lines through a given line (the axis of ) is called special.

Given a symplectic form on , it is readily seen that the isotropic lines of the associated projective space (corresponding to the maximal totally isotropic subspaces of ) form a non-special linear complex, and conversely any non-special linear complex in can be thought of as the set of isotropic lines with respect to a symplectic form. (It thus follows that the full stabilizer in of a given non-special linear complex is isomorphic to the projective general symplectic group ).

A linear congruence of is the set of all lines that are common to two given linear complexes , . Let (where and are the equations of and respectively) be the pencil of complexes generated by and . If all complexes in are special, then ``degenerates" into a plane and the lines through the intersection of the axes of and . If no complex in is special, is said to be elliptic. In this case, there are exactly two complexes in which are special when viewed in , being a quadratic extension of , and their axes are skew lines over , called the ``imaginary" axes of . Otherwise, either contains exactly two special complexes, w.l.o.g. say , , or contains a unique special complex . In the former case is called hyperbolic, and consists of the lines leaning on the axes of and . In the latter case is called parabolic and consists of lines through the axis of .


Next: The orthogonal representation Up: Some geometryand Previous: Some geometryand


Marina Cazzola
Mathematics Institute
University of Warwick
Coventry CV4 7AL
marina@maths.warwick.ac.uk