On Divisible Designs and

Twisted Field Planes

Cinzia Cerroni, Antonino Giorgio Spera
Dipartimento di Matematica ed Applicazioni, Universita di Palermo,
via Archira 34, I-90123 Palermo, Italy
Received June 19, 1998; accepted November 13, 1998
Abstract: Starting from desarguesian and twisted eld planes we construct and study some
classes of divisible designs admitting an automorphism group which is 2-transitive on the set of
point classes. #1999 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.J Combin Designs 7: 453464, 1999
Keywords: divisible designs; R-permutation groups; division algebras; translation planes;
automorphism groups: 05B30, 51E20, 51E15, 20B25, 20G40
1. INTRODUCTION
A method to construct divisible designs (see the next section, [4] or [10] for
denitions) by imprimitive permutation groups (G, X) with a special property was
introduced in [17]. A group G with this special property admits an imprimitive block
system R such that, if R is the equivalence relation associated with R, G is 2-R-
homogeneous; that is, G is transitive on the nonordered pairs of non-R-equivalent
elements of X. The divisible designs which are constructed by such a method admit a
large automorphism group and often they have nice geometrical properties.
Recently in [15] imprimitive groups which are 2-R-homogeneous were obtained
from translation planes that have a 2-transitive collineation group on the line at
innity l

. Such planes are desarguesian or Luneburg planes (see [14] and [8]), in the
latter case one obtains interesting divisible designs admitting the Suzuki group as an
automorphism group.
In this article we consider translation planes which have a collineation group xing
a point at innity and acting 2-transitively on the remaining points of l

. It is known
(see [9]) that such planes are desarguesian or division algebra planes. Moreover,
Correspondence to: Cinzia Cerroni, E-mail: Cerroni@ipamat.math.unipa.it
# 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. CCC 1063 8539/99/060453-12
453
recently it was also proved [see [5], [6], [7]] that any translation plane, of order
different from 2
6
, which admits such a collineation group is desarguesian or a
generalized twisted eld plane. Thus using each of the two cases we construct some
classes of divisible designs.
Precisely, we give, in Section 2, some background and prove a technique to
construct a pair of divisible designs that are in some sense complementary. In Section
3 we consider the desarguesian case and obtain the rst two classes of divisible
designs. Finally, in Section 4 we deal with the case of twisted eld planes. So we
obtain another pair of classes of such structures, which admit the full collineation
group of the considered twisted eld planes as an automorphism group. Moreover, we
study the obtained divisible designs and determine the orbits on points and on blocks
under the action of the translation complement and the autotopism group.
2. DEFINITIONS AND FIRST RESULTS
Let X be a set of order v and R an equivalence relation on X. If x X, we denote by
[x] the R-equivalence class containing x and by Rthe set of all R-equivalence classes.
A subset Y of X is said to be R-transversal if Y meets each equivalence class at most
in one element, that is [Y [x[[ _ 1 for every x X. Let B be a family of R-
transversal subsets of X and s, k, ! positive integers with 2 _ k ` v. The triple
D = (XY BY R) is said to be a (vY sY kY !)-divisible design if
i. [[x[[ = s for every x X;
ii. [B[ = k for every B B;
iii. for every xY y X, with [x[ ,= [y[, there exist exactly ! elements of B
containing x and y.
The elements of X are called points, those of B blocks, and the elements of R
point classes. If v = skY D is said to be transversal; whereas, when v b ks, it is said to
be regular. Note that for s = 1 a regular divisible design is a 2-design. If D is a
(vY sY kY !)-divisible design, then the number of blocks through a given point is a
constant number r and
r(k 1) = !(v s) and bk = vrY (1)
where b denotes the number of blocks of D. For examples and background on
divisible designs see for instance [4] or [10].
Let G be a permutation group on the set X and R an equivalence relation on X
which is G-admissible, that is
xY y X and xRy imply x
g
Ry
g
for all g GY
then the triple = (GY XY R) is said to be an R-permutation group (see [17]). is
called t-R-homogeneous (and t-R-transitive, respectively) if for every two R-
transversal subsets of X of size tY S = x
1
Y Y x
t
and S
/
= y
1
Y Y y
t
, there exists
g G such that S
/
= S
g
(and y
i
= x
g
i
for every i = 1Y 2Y F F F Y t, respectively). Note that,
if G is t-R-transitive, then G is t-R-homogeneous. In fact, t-R-transitive means that the
454 CERRONI AND SPERA
points of S are mapped under G, in an orderly way, to the points of S
/
. So, in
particular, S is mapped under G to S
/
. Divisible designs are closely connected to R-
permutation groups as the following proposition shows.
Proposition 2.1 [17]. Let = (GY XY R) be a nite R-permutation group which is
2-R-homogeneous. Suppose [X[ = v and B is an R-transversal subset of order k of X
with 2 ` k ` v. If B
G
= B
g
[g G and D(, B) denotes the incidence structure
(XY B
G
Y R), then D(, B) is a (v;s,k,!)-divisible design admitting G as a block-
transitive automorphism group. Moreover b =
[G[
[G
B
[
, s = [[x[[ for some x X and
! =
[G[k(k1)
[G
B
[v(vs)
, where G
B
denotes the setwise stabilizer of B.
Examples and applications of the above proposition may be found in [17], and
[15]. In [16] the following basic proposition was given, that allows us to get R-
permutation groups, which are 2-R-homogeneous, from translation planes. Let % be a
translation plane. If is a subset of the line at innity, l

, of %, we will denote by
L() the set of lines of % intersecting .
Proposition 2.2. Let % be a translation plane and T its translation group. Suppose
% admits a collineation group H acting 2-homogeneous on an orbit of the
line at innity l

. If R is the induced parallelism relation on L(), then

= (THY L()Y R) is an R-permutation group which is 2-R-homogeneous.
Note that the previous proposition can be stated with the hypothesis H is a 2-
transitive permutation group instead of H is a 2-homogeneous permutation group.
The thesis will be: is a 2-R-transitive R-permutation group. The proof is exactly the
same (see the proof in [16]).
For a subset
/
of _ l

and an (afne) point P of % we set

L
P
(
/
) X= l L(
/
)[P lX
Proposition 2.3. Suppose % is a nite translation plane and T, H, are as in the
above. Let = (THY L()Y R)Y [[ =
"
k and let
/
be a subset of of size k _ 2 with
"
k k _ 2. Moreover, let P be an (afne) xed point of % and set B = L
P
(
/
) and
B
/
= L
P
(
/
). If D(, B) is a (v;s,k,!)-divisible design with b blocks, then
D(Y B
/
) is a (v
/
Y s
/
Y k
/
Y !
/
)-divisible design, having the same number of blocks as
D(, B), where v
/
= vY s
/
= sY k
/
=
"
k k, and !
/
= !
b(
"
k
2
2
"
kk
"
k2k)
v(vs)
.
Proof. The lines of B intersect in the unique point P, because k = [
/
[ _ 2. It
follows that every element of (TH)
B
xes P. Hence, (TH)
B
xes P and
/
. So it xes
P and
/
. This implies that (TH)
B
xes B
/
, that is (TH)
B
_ (TH)
B
/
. Now
interchanging the roles of B and B
/
we obtain that (TH)
B
= (TH)
B
/
since
[
/
[ =
"
k k _ 2. Of course, v
/
= vY s
/
= s and k
/
=
"
k k. Whereas by
Proposition 2.1,
!
/
=
[TH[
[(TH)
B
/
[
k
/
(k
/
1)
v
/
(v
/
s
/
)
=
[TH[
[(TH)
B
[
(
"
k k)(
"
k k 1)
v(v s)
= b
(
"
k
2
2kk k 2k) (k
2
k)
v(v s)
= ! b
(
"
k
2
2
"
kk
"
k 2k)
v(v s)
X
DIVISIBLE DESIGNS AND TWISTED FIELD PLANES 455
Moreover, b
/
= b by a direct calculation using (1) or by nothing that by Proposition
2.1
b
/
=
[TH[
[(TH)
B
/
[
=
[TH[
[(TH)
B
[
= bX &
Finally, we recall some facts about division algebra planes which will be useful in
the next sections. Notice that what we call division algebras, following A. Albert ([1],
[2], and [3]), are sometimes called ``semields'', ``distributive quasields'' or
``division rings''. Let D be a nite division algebra with multiplication and %(D)
the translation plane coordinatized by D. (For background information on translation
planes see [13] or [12]). It is known that if Dis a proper division algebra (that is, Dis
not a eld), the full collineation group of %(D) is G = TG
'
G

, where T D
2
() is
the translation group, G
'
is the group of the afne elations with axis the line of
equation x = 0, and G

is the group of autotopisms of %(D). More precisely, if

'
t
X D
2
D
2
is dened by (xY y)
'
t
= (xY x t y) for every (xY y) D
2
, then
G
'
= '
t
[t D. Notice that the action of G
'
on l

() is given by
(m)
't
X= (m t) for every (m) l

(). Of course, G
'
D(). Whereas
G

is the stabilizer in G of the points (0,0), (0), and (). Moreover, the group TG
'
is a normal subgroup of G which admits G

as a complement. The left, middle,

and right nucleus of D are dened as follows, N
l
X= x D[\yY z D X
x (y z) = (x y) z, N
m
X= y D[\xY z D X x (y z) = (x y) z, N
r
X=
z D[\xY y D X x (y z) = (x y) z, respectively. Each of the Nuclei N
l
, N
m
and N
r
are elds and Dis an algebra over F = N
l
N
m
N
r
. An autotopism of Dis a
triple (PY QY U) of nonsingular F-linear transformations or D such that
xQ yP = (x y)U for every xY y DX
It is known (see [2]) that the set of the autotopisms of D is a group isomorphic to G

,
namely, the isomorphism is (PY QY U) (PY QY U), where (xY y)
(PYQYU)
= (xQY yU)
for every point (xY y) of %(D) and (m)
(PYQYU)
= (mP) for every (m) l

().
3. THE DESARGUESIAN CASE
In this section as an application of the propositions of Section 2 we give some classes
of divisible designs considering a desarguesian plane and the 2-transitive action of the
afne group on l

().
Theorem 3.1. Let q and h be positive integers where h b 1 divides q 1 and q is a
prime power.
(i) If q is a power of h 1, then there exists a (q
2
Y qY h 1Y 1)-divisible design
with
q
2
(q1)q
h(h1)
blocks.
(ii) If q is not a power of h 1, then there exists a (q
2
Y qY h 1Y h 1)-divisible
design with
q
2
(q1)q
h
blocks.
In each case the divisible design admits the afne group AGL(1, q) as an auto-
morphism group.
456 CERRONI AND SPERA
Proof. Let % be the desarguesian translation plane of order q. So we can suppose
that the point set of % is (F
q
)
2
, where F
q
is the nite eld of order q. We will denote
the line of % of equation y = xm t by l
(m)Yt
and that of equation x = k by l
k
. Whereas
the point at innity of l
(m)Yt
will be denoted by (m) and that of l
k
by (). Set
G =
1 0
b c

[ c F
+
q
and b F
q
& '
Y
then G is a subgroup of the stabilizer of () in GL(2, q) and it acts as a 2-transitive
permutation group on = l

(). In fact (GY ) is a permutation group which

is equivalent to the afne group (AGL(1, q), AG(1, q)). Therefore, by Proposition 2.2,
= (TGY L()Y R) is an R-permutation group which is 2-R-transitive, where
L() = l
(m)Yt
[mY t F
q
and R denotes the parallelism relation on L(). Since h
divides q 1, there exists a (unique) subgroup H of F
+
q
of order h. Set
/
=
(m) l

[m H 0 and choose as a base block the following R-transversal

subset of L()
B X= L
0
(
/
) = l
(m)Yt
L()[(m)
/
and t = 0X
If (
#
(TG)
B
T, then (
#
= id, since [
/
[ _ 2, and we get (TG)
B
= G
B
. Let
M =
1 0
b c

and note that M((m)) = (cm b) for every (m) . Moreover,
M(l
(m)Y0
) B, for all l
(m)Y0
B, if, and only if, cm b H 0, for all
m H 0.
Case (i): q is a power of h 1. In this case H 0 is a subeld of F
q
and so, for
m = 0, we obtain b H 0; whereas setting m = 1, we get c H. Therefore,
G
B
=
1 0
b c

G[ c H and b H 0
& '
X
This implies that [G
B
[ = h(h 1) and (see Proposition 2.1) the divisible design
D(Y B), associated with and B has the following parameters: v = [L()[ = q
2
Y
s = qY k = [B[ = h 1Y b =
[TG[
[(TG)
B
[
=
[T[[G[
[G
B
[
=
q
2
q(q1)
h(h1)
and ! = b
k(k1)
v(vs)
=
q
2
q(q1)
h(h1)
h(h1)
q
2
(q
2
q)
= 1.
Case (ii): q is not a power of h 1. Observe that
L =
1 0
0 c

[ c H
& '
is a subgroup of G
B
that xes the point at innity (0) and acts sharply transitively on

/
(0). We shall prove that G
B
= L. Suppose that G
B
,= L, then there is an
element M
1
G
B
which does not x (0). So, G
B
is transitive on
/
and we get that G
B
is 2-transitive on
/
because L = (G
B
)
(0)
. It follows that there exists M
2
G
B
such
that M
2
((0)) = (1) and M
2
((1)) = (0). Hence, M
2
=
1 0
1 1

. If m H and
DIVISIBLE DESIGNS AND TWISTED FIELD PLANES 457
m ,= 1Y M
2
((m))
/
(0)Y (1) and so 1 m H. Moreover, if m
/
H 1
there exists M
3
G
B
such that M
3
((1)) = (1) and M
3
((0)) = (m
/
); hence
M
3
=
1 0
1 c c

with c = 1 m
/
H. Now, for every x H 0,
M
3
((x)) = (cx 1 c)
/
and so x c
1
(1 c) H 0. This implies that
M
4
=
1 0
c
1
(1 c) 1

G
B
since M
4
((x)) = (x c
1
(1 c))
/
. For every
1 0
0 d

LY M =
1 0
0 d

M
4
1 0
0 d

1
=
1 0
dc
1
(1 c) 1

G
B
, because
1 0
0 d

Y M
4
G
B
. Hence, M((x)) = (x dc
1
(1 c))
/
for every
x H 0 and d H, that is x dc
1
(1 c) H 0 for every x H 0
and dY c H. This is sufces for H 0 to be an (additive) group and so a subeld
of F
q
; a contradiction, since q is not a power of h 1. Therefore, [G
B
[ = [L[ = h, and
the parameters of D(Y B) are: v, s, and k as in case (i), b =
[TG[
[G
B
[
=
q
2
(q1)q
h
and
! =
q
2
(q1)q
h
(h1)h
q
2
(q
2
q)
= h 1. Finally, observe that G is an automorphism group of the
constructed divisible designs, and G is, up to isomorphism, the afne group AGL(1, q).
&
Remark 3.2 In the above theorem, for h = q 1, the constructed divisible design is
transversal and it can be obtained in a standard way by considering the dual structure
of the desarguesian plane % of order q from which the parallel class of vertical lines
has been deleted.
Corollary 3.3. Let D be the divisible design constructed in Theorem 3.1 in the case
where q is a power of h 1. Then D admits a two-point-ag-transitive automorphism
group.
Proof. The group TG (see the proof of Theorem 3.1 for notation) is transitive on the
block set of D and G
B
= (TG)
B
. If q is a power of h 1, then H 0 is a nite eld
and G
B
=
1 0
b c

[c H and b H 0
& '
X So G
B
acts on B as the afne group
over the eld F
h1
, or order h 1, acts on the afne line over F
h1
. Thus G
B
is 2-
transitive on B and we get that TG is transitive on the triples of type (xY yY B
/
) where
x and y are distinct points and B
/
is a block of D such that xY y B
/
. In fact, if
x
0
Y y
0
are two distinct xed points on the base block B and (xY yY B
/
) is a two-point-
ag, then there exists g TG such that B
/
= B
g
. Let "x = x
g
1
and "y = y
g
1
. Thus
"xY "y are distinct points on B. It follows that there exists f G
B
such that "x = x
f
0
and
"y = y
f
0
because of the 2-transitivity of G
B
on B. Now, f g takes x
0
onto xY y
0
onto y and
B onto B
/
. &
Now by Proposition 2.3 we obtain other classes of divisible designs in some way
complementary to those constructed in the above theorem.
458 CERRONI AND SPERA
Proposition 3.4. Let q and h be as in Theorem 3.1. If h ` q 3 then there exists a
(q
2
Y qY q h 1Y !
/
)-divisible design with !
/
= m 1 in the case that q is a power of
h 1 and !
/
= (h 1)(m 1) otherwise, where m =
q
2
3q2(q1)h2
h(h1)
.
Proof. Since (see again the proof of Theorem 3.1)
"
k = [[ = [l

()[ = q and
k = [
/
[ = [(m)[m H 0[ = h 1, we have that
"
k k = q h 1 _ 2,
because h ` q 3. It follows that if = (TGY L()Y R) and B = L
0
(
/
) as before,
and B
/
X= L
0
(
/
) then the parameters of the (v
/
Y s
/
Y k
/
Y !
/
)-divisible design
D(Y B
/
) depend on those of D(Y B) (see Proposition 2.3) and we get v
/
= q
2
Y s
/
= q
and k
/
=
"
k k = q h 1. Moreover, if q is a power of h 1, then the number of
blocks of D(Y B) is b =
q
2
(q
2
q)
h(h1)
and ! = 1; whereas if q is not a power of
h 1Y b =
q
2
(q
2
q)
h
and ! = h 1. Thus, in the rst case, we obtain that
!
/
= 1
q
2
3q 2(q 1)h 2
h(h 1)
= m 1X
In the second case we have
!
/
= (h 1)
q
2
3q 2(q 1)h 2
h
= (h 1)(m 1)X
&
4. DIVISIBLE DESIGNS FROM TWISTED FIELDS
Let F
q
n be the nite eld with q
n
elements where q b 2 and n b 2. Clearly, the
automorphism group of F
q
n over F
q
is generated by the automorphism S X F
q
n F
q
n
dened by xS X= x
q
for every x F
q
n. If q = p
t
with p being a prime number, then F
q
n
has degree nt over F
p
. Then T X F
q
n F
q
n , dened by xT X= x
p
for every x F
q
n,
generates the automorphism group of F
q
n over F
p
. Of course, S = T
t
. Let now c be an
element of F
q
n with N
F
q
(c) ,= 1. Here N
F
q
(c) denotes the norm of c over F
q
. That is
N
F
q
X F
q
n F
q
is the map dened by
N
F
q
(x) X= x(xS)(xS
2
) F F F (xS
n1
) for every x F
q
n X
Note that any primitive element of F
q
n may be chosen as c. Let A = I SR
c
and
B = S R
c
, where I X F
q
n F
q
n is the identity map and R
c
X F
q
n F
q
n is the map
dened by xR
c
X= xc for all x F
q
n . It is easy to show that A and B are nonsingular
F
q
-linear, transformation of F
q
n and 1B = 1A = 1 c, where 1 is the identity of F
q
.
One can dene (see [1], [2]) a new product in F
q
n as follows:
x y = (xA
1
)(yB
1
)
q
c(xA
1
)
q
(yB
1
) for every xY y F
q
n X
The F
q
-vector space F
q
n with the product is a division algebra with the identity
e = 1 c, which is called a twisted eld and is denoted by D
c
. The autotopism group
of such a twisted eld D
c
was described by A. A. Albert.
DIVISIBLE DESIGNS AND TWISTED FIELD PLANES 459
Theorem 4.1 [1]. Let F
q
n be a nite eld of order q
n
, with qY n b 2, where q = p
t
, p
a prime. Let D
c
be the twisted eld construct above, %(D
c
) the translation plane
associated with D
c
, and G

the autotopism group of %(D

c
). If V = T
t
1
is the
automorphism of F
q
n that generates the group of all automorphisms of F
q
n over F
p
xing N
F
q
(c), then there exists a unique element g F
+
q
n such that g(cV) = c(gS) and
(PY QY U) G

if, and only if,

P = B
1
(V
"
R
a
)BY Q = A
1
(VR
g
)
"
R
a
A and U = A
1
(VR
g
)
"
AR
a(aS)
Y
where a F
+
q
n Y " = 0Y 1Y F F F Y (n
t
t
1
1) and A and B are xed as above. Moreover,
G

is isomorphic to the group E = V

"
R
a
[a F
+
q
n Y " = 0Y 1Y F F F Y (n
t
t
1
1) and so
[G

[ = n
t
t
1
(q
n
1).
Now we prove that the translation complement G
/
= G
'
G

of %(D
c
) is 2-transitive
on l

(). If (0)
'
t
(PYQYU)
= (0), then (tP) = (0) and since P is a nonsingular
map, t = 0. So G
/
(0)
= G

. Let a F
+
q
n and (P
a
Y Q
a
Y U
a
) be the autotopism of G

(see Theorem 4.1) dened by P

a
= B
1
R
a
BY Q
a
= A
1
R
a
A and U
a
= R
a(aS)
(that is
setting " = 0). We have that
(e)
(P
a
YQ
a
YU
a
)
= ((1 c)P
a
) = ((1 c)B
1
R
a
B) = (aB)Y
because 1B = 1 c. But F
+
q
n B = F
+
q
n since B is a nonsingular map. It follows that
(e)
(P
a
YQ
a
YU
a
)
[a F
+
q
n = (F
+
q
n B) = l

()Y (0) is the orbit of (e) under G

/
(0)
and
so G
/
(0)
= G

is transitive on l

()Y (0). Moreover, G

'
is transitive on
l

(). Therefore, (see also [9]) we have the following.

Proposition 4.2. Let D
c
be a twisted eld and %(D
c
) the translation plane
associated with D
c
. Then the transtation complement of %(D
c
) acts on l

()
as a 2-transitive permutation group.
Now we are able to construct some classes of divisible designs. In fact, by
Proposition 2.2, the full collineation group of %(D
c
) is 2-R-transitive on the line set
L(), where denotes the set l

() and R is the parallelism relation induced

on L(). Let d be a positive integer which divides t. Here as above, t is dened by
q = p
t
where q
n
is the cardinality of D
c
. Hence, F
p
d _ D
c
. Consider the subset
d
of
the line at innity of %(D
c
) dened as follows

d
= (m) l

[m = me with m F
p
d Y Y
where the multiplication in me is the one of the F
q
-vector space. If we denote by l
m
/
the line of equation y = x m
/
and choose as a base block B
d
X= L
0
(
d
), where 0
denotes the point (0, 0), we get
B
d
= l
m
L()[(m)
d
X
Now we can state the following theorem.
Theorem 4.3. Let n, t, d and p be positive integers where p is a prime number,
n b 2 and q = p
t
b 2. If d divides t, then there exists a (q
2n
Y q
n
Y q
d
Y 1)-divisible design
460 CERRONI AND SPERA
that admits the full collineation group of the twisted eld plane %(D
c
) as an
automorphism group.
Proof. Let D
c
be the twisted eld constructed on F
q
n for some c F
q
n with
N
F
q
(c) ,= 1, G = TG
'
G

the full collineation group of %(D

c
) and B
d
dened as
above. If l
m
B
d
and g = (
#
'
t
(PY QY U) G, then (l
m
)
g
B
d
if, and only if,
(0Y 0)
g
= (0Y 0) and (m)
g
= (m
/
), for some (m
/
)
d
, because p
d
_ 2. But
(0Y 0)
(
#
'
t
(PYQYU)
= (0Y 0) if, and only if, (0Y 0)
(
#
= (0Y 0)

1
(PYQYU)'
1
t
= (0Y 0), that is
if, and only if, # = (0Y 0). It follows that G
B
d
= (G
'
G

)
d
. Of course, we can write an
arbitrary element of G
'
G

as (PY QY U)'
t
because G
'
G

= G

G
'
. For every
(m)
d
we have (m)
(PYQYU)'
t
= (mP t). So (PY QY U)'
t
(G
'
G

)
d
if, and
only if, (mP t)
d
for every m F
p
d. It follows, for m = 0, that t must be an
element of (F
p
d )e. So (PY QY U)'
t
(G
'
G

)
d
, if, and only if, t (F
p
d )e and
mP (F
p
d )e for every m F
p
d for every m F
p
d, since (F
p
d )e is an additive group (in
fact ((F
p
d )eY Y ) is a eld isomorphic to F
p
d ). But (see Theorem 4.1) P is the map
dened by P X= B
1
(V
"
R
a
)B, where B = S R
c
is a nonsingular linear transforma-
tion of F
q
n over F
q
and eB
1
= 1. Thus,
mP = (me)B
1
V
"
R
a
B = m(eB
1
)V
"
R
a
B = m
p
t
1
"
R
a
B = m
p
t
1
"
(aB)X
This implies that mP (F
p
d )e if, and only if, aB (F
p
d )e, that is a ((F
p
d )e)B
1
=
F
p
d (eB
1
) = F
p
d , since m F
p
d implies m
p
t
1
"
F
p
d . Therefore, (PY QY U)'
t
G
B
d
if, and only if, a F
p
d and t (F
p
d )e. Hence, we obtain that G
B
d
= G
'
G

where G
'
= '
t
[t (F
p
d e) and G

= (B
1
V
"
R
a
BY A
1
(VR
g
)
"
R
a
AY A
1
(VR
g
)
"
AR
a(aS)
[0 ,= a F
p
d and " = 0Y 1Y F F F Y n
t
t
1
1.
It follows that [G
B
d
[ = n
t
t
1
p
d
(p
d
1), as [G
'
[ = [(F
p
d )e[ = [F
p
d [ = p
d
. Now, by
Proposition 2.1 we can calculate the parameters of the divisible design D(Y B
d
)
associated with = (GY L()Y R) and B
d
. Of course, s = q
n
Y v = [L()[ = q
2n
and
k = [B
d
[ = [
d
[ = p
d
. Moreover, ! =
[G[
[G
B
d
[
k(k1)
v(vs)
=
[T[[G
'
[[G

[
n
t
t
1
p
d
(p
d
1)
p
d
(p
d
1)
q
2n
(q
2n
q
n
)
= 1. Thus the
theorem is completely proved since its second part follows from Proposition 2.1.
&
Note that [(
d
)[ = q
n
p
d
b 2 since d _ tY p
t
= q b 2, and n b 2, as in the
previous theorem. Thus, by Proposition 2.3 and the above theorem, we get other
divisible designs whose parameters are:
v
/
= q
2n
Y s
/
= q
n
Y k
/
= q
n
p
d
and
!
/
= 1
q
2n
(q
2n
q
n
)
p
d
(p
d
1)
q
2n
2q
n
p
d
q
n
2p
d
q
2n
(q
2n
q
n
)
= 1
q
2n
2q
n
p
d
q
n
2p
d
p
d
(p
d
1)
X
Therefore we have the following.
Corollary 4.4. If n, t, d, p, and q are positive integers such that p is a prime, d
divides t, n b 2 and q = p
t
b 2, then there exists a (q
2n
Y q
n
Y q
n
p
d
Y !
/
)-divisible
design D
d
, where !
/
= 1
q
2n
2q
n
p
d
q
n
2p
d
p
d
(p
d
1)
. Moreover, D
d
admits the full collineation
group of a twisted eld plane as an automorphism group which is transitive on points
and on blocks.
DIVISIBLE DESIGNS AND TWISTED FIELD PLANES 461
Proposition 4.5. If G and D
d
denote the full collineations group of the twisted eld
plane %(D
c
) and the divisible design D(Y B
d
) constructed in the above theorem,
respectively, then
(i) G is transitive on the incident point-block pairs of D
d
.
(ii) If H = (
#
T[# = (0Y y) for some y D
c
Y
~
T X= HG
'
is sharply transitive
on the point set of D
d
, and B
/(
#
'
t
B
/
= O for every block B
/
of D
d
and every
(
#
'
t

~
T with (
#
,= id.
Proof. Since G is transitive on the points and the blocks of D
d
, to prove (i) it is
enough to show that G
B
d
is transitive on B
d
, where B
d
is the base block of D
d
. But
(see the proof of Theorem 4.3) G
B
d
= G
'
G

and G
'
is sharply transitive on B
d
because (0)
G
'
= (t)[t (F
p
d )e =
d
. So (i) is proved, as G
'
_ G
B
d
.
Now let Pbe the projective extension of %(D
c
). It is known (see for example [11])
that T is the group of collineation with center (). Thus
~
T is sharply transitive on all
lines of P that do not contain (), that is,
~
T is sharply transitive on the point set of
D
d
. Moreover, if (
~
T and Z ,= () is a point of P, then either (Z)
(
= (Z) or
(Z)
(
(Z)ZZ
(
= O, where (Z) denotes the line set through Z, and ZZ
(
denotes
the line through Z and Z
(
. If B
/
is a block of D
d
, then B
/
= (B
d
)
g
where g G and B
d
is the base block. Since B
d
= L
(0Y0)
(
d
), we have that B
d
_ ((0Y 0)) and so B
/
_ (Z
/
)
if Z
/
= (0Y 0)
g
. Hence, B
/(
#
'
t
_ (Z
/(
#
'
t
) for every (
#
'
t

~
T. If (
#
,= id, then
(Z
/(
#
'
t
) ,= (Z
/
) and so (Z
/(
#
'
t
) (Z
/
)Z
/
Z
/(
#
'
t
= O. It follows that B
/(
#
'
t
B
/
=
O, because the line Z
/
Z
/(
#
'
t
is a line through (), and the proof is complete. &
Now we determine the orbits of the translation complement G
'
G

of %(D
c
) when
we consider it as an automorphism group of the divisible design D
d
= D(Y B
d
)
constructed in Theorem 4.3.
Proposition 4.6. Let n, t, d, and p be positive integers, where q = p
t
, with p prime,
d divides t and n, q b 2. Let D
d
be the (q
2n
Y q
n
Y p
d
Y 1)-divisible design as constructed
in Theorem 4.3 and consider its automorphism group G
'
G

.
(i) The point set of D
d
is split by G
'
G

into one orbit of size q

n
and 9 orbits of
size
q
n
(q
n
1)
9
, where 9 = 1 if q 1,[ q
n
1 and 9 = q 1 if q 1[q
n
1.
(ii) The block set of D
d
is split by G
'
G

into q
2n
orbits of size
q
n
(q
n
1)
p
d
(p
d
1)
each.
Proof. (i) Let l
0
be the line of %(D
c
) with equation y = 0 and (PY QY U)'
t
an
element of G
'
G

, (for notation see the proof of Theorem 4.3). Since

(0)
(PYQYU)'
t
= (0)
'
t
= (t) and (0,0) is xed by G
'
and G

, we get that l
(PYQYU)'
t
0
is
the line with equation y = x t. Hence l
G
'
G

0
= L
0
() and so [l
G
'
G

0
[ = q
n
. Now we
consider the line l
k
of equation y = k, where k ,= 0. Let (PY QY U) be an element of
G

, we have (0Y k)
(PYQYU)'
t
= (0Y kU) = (0Y k
/
a
q1
), with k
/
F
+
q
n . Thus l
(PYQYU)'
t
k
is
the line with equation y = x t k
/
a
q1
being, as before, (0)
(PYQYU)'
t
= (t). Now,
consider the map & X x x
q1
, from F
+
q
n in F
+
q
n , and let 9 = [Ker&[ = [x[ x
q1
= 1[.
Since Im&
F
+
q
n
Ker&
, there are
q
n
1
9
distinct elements k
/
a
q1
, with a F
+
q
n . So
[l
G
'
G

k
[ = q
n
q
n
1
9
. Therefore, there are 9 orbits of size q
n
q
n
1
9
. There are no other
462 CERRONI AND SPERA
orbits on points of D
d
, because 9q
n
q
n
1
9
q
n
= q
2n
= v. (ii) Let B
d
be the base block
of D
d
. (G
'
G

)
B
d
= (TG
'
G

)
B
d
and (see the proof of Theorem 4.3)
[(TG
'
G

)
B
d
[ = n
t
t
1
p
d
(p
d
1). So, [B
G
'
G

d
[ =
[G
'
G

[
[(G
'
G

)
B
d
[
=
q
n
n
t
t
1
(q
n
1)
n
t
t
1
p
d
(p
d
1)
=
q
n
(q
n
1)
p
d
(p
d
1)
, because
[G
'
[ = q
n
and [G

[ = n
t
t
1
(q
n
1) by Theorem 4.1. If B
1
a B
G
'
G

d
, then B
1
= B
(
#
g
d
for
some (
#
T and g G
'
G

. It follows that B
(
#
gg
1
d
= B
(
#
g
d
if, and only if,
g
1
(G
'
G

)
B
1
. That is ((
#
g)g
1
((
#
g)
1
(G
'
G

)
B
d
if, and only if, g
1
(G
'
G

)
B
1
.
Thus, [(G
'
G

)
B
1
[ = [((
#
g)
1
(G
'
G

)
B
1
((
#
g)[ = [(G
'
G

)
B
d
[ = n
t
t
1
p
d
(p
d
1) and we
obtain that the orbit of B
1
has the same number of blocks as B
G
'
G

d
. Now we get (ii),
because the total number of blocks of D
d
is b =
q
2n
q
n
(q
n
1)
p
d
(p
d
1)
. &
The next proposition gives the orbits on points and blocks of D
d
under the
autotopism group.
Proposition 4.7. Consider the autotopism group G

of %(D
c
) in its action on the
divisible design D
d
, then G

splits the point set of D

d
into one orbit of size 1, one of
size q
n
1Y 9 orbits of size
q
n
1
9
, where 9 is as in the previous proposition, and 9 of
size
q
2n
2q
n
1
9
. Moreover, the block set of D
d
is split by G

in
q
3n
p
d
orbits of size
q
n
1
p
d
1
.
Proof. The line with equation y = 0 is xed by G

, because G

xes (0) and (0, 0) in

%(D
c
). So l
0
as a point of D
d
is an orbit. Now, consider the orbit l
G

k
where l
k
is the
line y = k, with k ,= 0. If (PY QY U) G

, then (0Y k)
(PYQYU)
= (0Y kU) = (0Y k
/
a
q1
)
for some a and k
/
F
+
q
n . So, l
(PYQYU)
k
= l
k
/
a
q1 , since every autotopism xes (0). It
follows that [l
G

k
[ =
q
n
1
9
(the proof is the same as that of the previous proposition).
Thus D
d
has 9 orbits on point of size
q
n
1
9
. Let l
eY0
be the line with equation y = x e,
where e is the identity of the algebra D
c
. Consider (PY QY U) G

, then
(e)
(PYQYU)
= (eP) = (eB
1
(V
"
R
a
)B) = (aB), because 1B = e. Since every autotop-
ism xes (0, 0), we obtain l
(PYQYU)
eY0
= l
aBY0
. Therefore, l
G

eY0
= l
mY0
[m F
+
q
n , B being a
nonsingular map and so (F
+
q
n )B = F
+
q
n . Thus, we have an orbit of size q
n
1. Now, we
consider the line l
eYk
of equation y = x e k, with k ,= 0. Since, as before,
(0Y k)
(PYQYU)
= (0Y k
/
a
q1
) and (e)
(PYQYU)
= (aB), we have 9 orbits of size
[l
G

eYk
[ = (q
n
1)
(q
n
1)
9
and we do not have other orbits on points of D
d
.
Consider the base block B
d
of D
d
. Since [(G

)
B
d
[ = n
t
t
1
(p
d
1), we have that
[B
G

d
[ =
[G

[
[(G

)
B
d
[
=
(q
n
1)n
t
t
1
(p
d
1)n
t
t
1
=
q
n
1
p
d
1
. But [B
G

1
[ = [B
G

d
[ for every block B
1
of D
d
because,
as in the previous proposition, the stabilizers of B
1
and of B
d
in G

are conjugates in
TG

. This implies that there are

q
3n
p
d
orbits in the block set, as b =
q
3n
(q
n
1)
p
d
(p
d
1)
. &
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464 CERRONI AND SPERA