On sets with few intersection numbers in finite projective and affine spaces.

In this paper we study sets X of points of both affine and projective spaces over the Galois field GF(q) such that every line of the geometry that is neither contained in X nor disjoint from X meets the set X in a constant number of points and we determine all such sets. This study has its main motivation in connection with a recent study of neighbour transitive codes in Johnson graphs by Liebler and Praeger [Designs, Codes and Crypt., 2014]. We prove that, up to complements, in PG(n, q) such a set X is either a subspace or n = 2, q is even and X is a maximal arc of degree m. In AG(n, q) we show that X is either the union of parallel hyperplanes or a cylinder with base a maximal arc of degree m (or the complement of a maximal arc) or a cylinder with base the projection of a quadric. Finally we show that in the affine case there are examples (different from subspaces or their complements) in AG(n, 4) and in AG(n, 16) giving new neighbour transitive codes in Johnson graphs.