Clifford parallelism: old and new definitions, and their use

Abstract

Parallelity in the real elliptic 3-space was defined by W. K. Clifford in 1873 and by F. Klein in 1890; we compare the two concepts. A Clifford parallelism consists of all regular spreads of the real projective 3-space $${{\rm PG}(3,\mathbb{R})}$$ whose (complex) focal lines (=directrices) form a regulus contained in an imaginary quadric (D1 = Klein’s definition). Our new access to the topic ‘Clifford parallelism’ is free of complexification and involves Klein’s correspondence λ of line geometry together with a bijective map γ from all regular spreads of $${{\rm PG}(3,\mathbb{R})}$$ onto those lines of $${{\rm PG}(5,\mathbb{R})}$$ having no common point with the Klein quadric; a regular parallelism P of $${{\rm PG}(3,\mathbb{R})}$$ is Clifford, if the spreads of P are mapped by γ onto a plane of lines (D2 = planarity definition). We prove the equivalence of (D1) and (D2). Associated with γ is a simple dimension concept for regular parallelisms which allows us to say instead of (D2): the 2-dimensional regular parallelisms of $${{\rm PG}(3,\mathbb{R})}$$ are Clifford (D3 = dimensionality definition). Submission of (D2) to λ−1 yields a complexification free definition of a Clifford parallelism which uses only elements of $${{\rm PG}(3,\mathbb{R})}$$ : A regular parallelism P is Clifford, if the union of any two distinct spreads of P is contained in a general linear complex of lines (D4 = line geometric definition). In order to see (D1) and (D2) simultaneously at work we discuss the following two examples using, at the one hand, complexification and (D1) and, at the other hand, (D2) under avoidance of complexification. Example 1. In the projectively extended real Euclidean 3-space a rotational regular spread with center o is submitted to the group of all rotations about o; we prove, that a Clifford parallelism is generated. Example 2. We determine the group $${Aut_e({\bf P}_{\bf C})}$$ of all automorphic collineations and dualities of the Clifford parallelism P C and show $${Aut_e({\bf P}_{\bf C})\hspace{1.5mm} \cong ({\rm SO}_3\mathbb{R} \times {\rm SO}_3\mathbb{R})\rtimes \mathbb{Z}_2}$$ .