Vectors, Cyclic Submodules and Projective Spaces Linked with Ternions
arXiv:0806.3153 · doi:10.1007/s00022-008-2090-4
Abstract
Given a ring of ternions , i. e., a ring isomorphic to that of upper triangular matrices with entries from an arbitrary commutative field , a complete classification is performed of the vectors from the free left -module , , and of the cyclic submodules generated by these vectors. The vectors fall into and the submodules into 6 distinct orbits under the action of the general linear group $\GL_{n+1}(R)$. Particular attention is paid to {\it free} cyclic submodules generated by \emph{non}-unimodular vectors, as these are linked with the lines of $\PG(n,F)$, the -dimensional projective space over . In the finite case, = $\GF(q)$, explicit formulas are derived for both the total number of non-unimodular free cyclic submodules and the number of such submodules passing through a given vector. These formulas yield a combinatorial approach to the lines and points of $\PG(n,q)$, , in terms of vectors and non-unimodular free cyclic submodules of .
10 pages, 1 figure