On factorizations of almost simple groups (Q1125907)

A factorization of a group \(G\) is simply an expression \(G=AB\) as a product of proper subgroups. The importance of this idea for simple groups \(G\) comes from the fact that this is equivalent to \(A\) acting transitively on the cosets of \(B\) (or vice versa). Thus this permutation action of \(A\) cannot be maximal in the appropriate symmetric group \(S_n\), as \(G\) lies strictly between \(A\) and \(S_n\). This leads to important classification results for maximal subgroups of the alternating and symmetric groups, again due to the authors [J. Algebra 111, 365-383 (1987; Zbl 0632.20011)]. The present paper fills a gap in previous work by the same authors, extending their classification of core-free maximal factorizations of almost simple groups to a classification of all maximal core-free factorizations. This weaker notion of maximality allows a handful of extra cases to crop up, which are listed in Table I of the paper. The proof is essentially a case-by-case analysis using the classification theorem for finite simple groups.