Extended generalized octagons and the group \(He\) (Q1900054)

In this paper, the author proves the following result. Given an extended generalized octagon \(\Gamma\), i.e., a rank 3 Buekenhout geometry with a string diagram \(\Delta\) the first edge of which is labelled `\(c\)' (to denote the class of linear spaces with two points per line) and the second edge of which is labelled `8' (for the class of (weak) generalized octagons), suppose we call `points', `edges', `blocks' the elements of \(\Gamma\) corresponding with respectively the first, second, last vertex of \(\Delta\). Suppose that \(\Gamma\) satisfies the following two conditions: (1) let \(x,y,z\) be points not lying on a common block, but with \(x\) adjacent with both \(y,z\), then \(y\) is adjacent with \(z\) if and only if the distance of the points \(x\) and \(y\) in the residue \(\Gamma (x)\) of \(\Gamma\) at \(x\) is 3 (in the point-graph of \(\Gamma (x))\); (2) every point of the residue at every point of \(\Gamma\) is incident with a thick `line' of that residue. Then the author proves that \(\Gamma\) is isomorphic to either the extended generalized octagon on 2048 points related to the sporadic group \(He\), or to the one on 112 points related to the group \(2 \cdot L_3 (4).2^2\). In these examples, the point- residues are isomorphic to the unique generalized octagons of order (2,1) and (4,1) respectively. The proof is very geometrical and combinatorial.