On the automorphism group of a binary $q$-analog of the Fano plane

Abstract

The smallest set of admissible parameters of a $q$-analog of a Steiner system is $S_2[2,3,7]$. The existence of such a Steiner system -- known as a binary $q$-analog of the Fano plane -- is still open. In this article, the automorphism group of a putative binary $q$-analog of the Fano plane is investigated by a combination of theoretical and computational methods. As a conclusion, it is either rigid or its automorphism group is cyclic of order $2$, $3$ or $4$. Up to conjugacy in $\operatorname{GL}(7,2)$, there remains a single possible group of order $2$ and $4$, respectively, and two possible groups of order $3$. For the automorphisms of order $2$, we give a more general result which is valid for any binary $q$-Steiner triple system.