Counting Arcs in Projective Planes via Glynn's Algorithm

Abstract

An $n$-arc in a projective plane is a collection of $n$ distinct points in the plane, no three of which lie on a line. Formulas counting the number of $n$-arcs in any finite projective plane of order $q$ are known for $n\le 8$. In 1995, Iampolskaia, Skorobogatov, and Sorokin counted $9$-arcs in the projective plane over a finite field of order $q$ and showed that this count is a quasipolynomial function of $q$. We present a formula for the number of $9$-arcs in any projective plane of order $q$, even those that are non-Desarguesian, deriving Iampolskaia, Skorobogatov, and Sorokin's formula as a special case. We obtain our formula from a new implementation of an algorithm due to Glynn; we give details of our implementation and discuss its consequences for larger arcs.

19 pages, to appear in Journal of Geometry