In combinatorial mathematics, a Dowling geometry, named after Thomas A. Dowling, is a matroid associated with a group. There is a Dowling geometry of each rank for each group. If the rank is at least 3, the Dowling geometry uniquely determines the group. Dowling geometries have a role in matroid theory as universal objects (Kahn and Kung, 1982); in that respect they are analogous to projective geometries, but based on groups instead of fields.
A Dowling lattice is the geometric lattice of flats associated with a Dowling geometry. The lattice and the geometry are mathematically equivalent: knowing either one determines the other. Dowling lattices, and by implication Dowling geometries, were introduced by Dowling (1973a,b).
A Dowling lattice or geometry of rank n of a group G is often denoted Qn(G).
Read more about Dowling Geometry: The Original Definitions, Graphical Definitions, Characteristic Polynomial, Generalizations
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“I am present at the sowing of the seed of the world. With a geometry of sunbeams, the soul lays the foundations of nature.”
—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882)