Related papers: An extension of the direction problem
We prove that if a subset of a $d$-dimensional vector space over a finite field with $q$ elements has more than $q^{d-1}$ elements, then it determines all the possible directions. If a set has more than $q^k$ elements, it determines a…
Given a point set $U$ in an $n$-dimensional affine space of size $q^{n-1}-\varepsilon$, we obtain information on the structure of the set of directions that are not determined by $U$, and we describe an application in the theory of partial…
We give upper bounds on the number of exceptional radial projections of arbitrary subsets of vector spaces over finite fields. Our bounds do not depend on the dimension of the ambient space. Let $\mathbb{F}_q^d$ be the $d$-dimensional…
Let $S$ be a set of $n\geq 7$ points in the plane, no three of which are collinear. Suppose that $S$ determines $n+1$ directions. That is to say, the segments whose endpoints are in $S$ form $n+1$ distinct slopes. We prove that $S$ is, up…
This paper is a survey paper on old and recent results on direction problems in finite dimensional affine spaces over a finite field.
Direction sets, recently introduced by Leonetti and Sanna, are generalization of ratio sets of subsets of positive integers. In this article, we generalize the notion of direction sets and define {\it $k$-generalized direction sets} and…
Let $k$ be any field and $k^s$ its separable closure. Let $X$ be an affine variety over $k$ which is isomorphic to affine $n$-space over the field extension $k^s$. Then $X$ is isomorphic to affine $n$ space over $k$.
We consider point sets in the $m$-dimensional affine space $\mathbb{F}_q^m$ where each squared Euclidean distance of two points is a square in $\mathbb{F}_q$. It turns out that the situation in $\mathbb{F}_q^m$ is rather similar to the one…
A direction in a Type I space $X=\cup_{\alpha<\omega_1}X_\alpha$ is a closed and unbounded subset $D$ of $X$ such that given any continuous $f:X\to\mathbb{L}_{\ge 0}$ (the closed long ray), if $f$ is unbounded on $D$ then $f$ is unbounded…
We find that for any n-dimensional, compact, convex subset K of R^{n+1} there is an affinely-spherical hypersurface M in R^{n+1} with center at the relative interior of K, such that the disjoint union of M and K is the boundary of an…
We consider a finite universe U (more exactly - a family U of them) and second order quantifiers Q_K, where for each U this means quantifying over a family of n(K)-place relations closed under permuting U. We define some natural orders and…
Let $V$ denote an $r$-dimensional $\mathbb{F}_{q^n}$-vector space. For an $m$-dimensional $\mathbb{F}_q$-subspace $U$ of $V$ assume that $\dim_q \left(\langle {\bf v}\rangle_{\mathbb{F}_{q^n}} \cap U\right) \geq 2$ for each non zero vector…
In this work, we introduce a natural notion concerning finite vector spaces. A family of $k$-dimensional subspaces of $\mathbb{F}_q^n$, which forms a partial spread, is called almost affinely disjoint if any $(k+1)$-dimensional subspace…
In this paper we study the number of special directions of sets of cardinality divisible by $p$ on a finite plane of characteristic $p$, where $p$ is a prime. We show that there is no such a set with exactly two special directions. We…
Consider a finite l-group acting on the affine space of dimension n over a field k, whose characteristic differs from l. We prove the existence of a fixed point, rational over k, in the following cases: --- The field k is p-special for some…
We study families of linear spaces in projective space whose union is a proper subvariety X of the expected dimension. We establish relations between configurations of focal points and existence or non-existence of a fixed tangent space to…
We answer in the negative a question by Gruenbaum who asked if there exists a finite basis of affine invariant points. We give a positive answer to another question by Gruenbaum about the "size" of the set of all affine invariant points.…
Let $A$ be a simple algebra over a field $F$. Under a mild cardinality assumption on $F$, we determine the greatest possible dimension for an $F$-affine subspace of $A$ that is included in the group of units $A^\times$, and we describe the…
Let $r$ and $n$ be positive integers such that $r<n$, and $\mathbb{K}$ be an arbitrary field. We determine the maximal dimension for an affine subspace of $n$ by $n$ symmetric (or alternating) matrices with entries in $\mathbb{K}$ and with…
For a permutation f of an n-dimensional vector space V over a finite field of order q we let k-affinity(f) denote the number of k-flats X of V such that f(X) is also a k-flat. By k-spectrum(n,q) we mean the set of integers k-affinity(f)…