Classification of general absolute planes by quasi-ends

Abstract

General (i.e. including non-continuous and non-Archimedean) absolute planes have been classified in different ways, e.g. by using Lambert–Saccheri quadrangles (cf. Greenberg, J Geom 12/1:45-64, 1979; Hartshorne, Geometry; Euclid and beyond, Springer, Berlin, 2000; Karzel and Marchi, Le Matematiche LXI:27–36, 2006; Rostamzadeh and Taherian, Results Math 63:171–182, 2013) or coordinate systems (cf. Pejas, Math Ann 143:212–235, 1961 and, for planes over Euclidean fields, Greenberg, J Geom 12/1:45-64, 1979). Here we consider the notion of quasi-end, a pencil determined by two lines which neither intersect nor have a common perpendicular (an ideal point of Greenberg, J Geom 12/1:45-64, 1979). The cardinality ω of the quasi-ends which are incident with a line is the same for all lines hence it is an invariant \({\omega_\mathcal{A}}\) of the plane \({\mathcal{A}}\) and can be used to classify absolute planes. We consider the case \({\omega_\mathcal{A}=0}\) and, for \({\omega_\mathcal{A} \geq 2}\) (it cannot be 1) we prove that in the singular case \({\omega_\mathcal{A}}\) must be infinite. Finally we prove that for hyperbolic planes, ends and quasi-ends are the same, so \({\omega_\mathcal{A}=2}\) .