# Polar Spaces and Embeddings of Classical Groups

### New Zealand Journal of Mathematics

Vol. 36, (2007), Pages 175-184

Nick Gill

Department of Mathematics

University Walk

Bristol, BS8 1TW

UK

Abstract Given polar spaces (V,β) and (V,Q) where V is a vector space over a field K, β a reflexive sesquilinear form and Q a quadratic form, we have associated classical isometry groups. Given a subfield F of K and an F-linear function $L:K\to F$ we can define new spaces (V,Lβ) and (V,LQ) which are polar spaces over F.

The construction so described gives an embedding of the isometry groups of (V,β) and (V,Q) into the isometry groups of (V,Lβ) and (V,LQ).In the finite field case under certain added restrictions these subgroups are maximal and form the so called field extension subgroups of Aschbacher's class C3[1].

We give precise descriptions of the polar spaces so defined and their associated isometry group embeddings. In the finite field case our results give extra detail to the account of maximal field extension subgroups given by Kleidman and Liebeck [3, p112].

Keywords

Classification (MSC2000)