Presentations of Fischer groups. I (Q1184074)

Let \(D\) be a set of involutions of a finite group \(G\) that generates \(G\) and such that the order of the product of any two elements of \(D\) is at most 3. If \(D\) is a single conjugacy class of \(G\), then \((G,D)\) is called a Fischer pair. Note that the image of a Fischer pair in \(\overline G=G/Z(G)\) is a Fischer pair \((\overline G,\overline D)\). In a very important work, B. Fischer classified all Fischer pairs \((G,D)\) when \(F^*(G)\) is simple and non-abelian. For such a Fischer pair \((G,D)\) with \(F^*(G)\) simple, this paper presents a method for constructing a presentation \((X,R\cup R')\) of \(G\) where \(X\subseteq D\), \(R\) is the set of relations \((xy)^{| xy|}=1\) for all \(x,y\in X\) and \(R'\) is an additional set of relations on \(X\). Thus \(G\) is a quotient of the Coxeter group \((X,R)\). This method is applied to the Fischer pairs: \((Sp(n,2)\), \(D\) the class of transvections with \(n\) even and \(n\geq 4\)) and \((O_ \varepsilon(n,2)\), \(D\) the class of orthogonal reflections, \(n\) even, \(n\geq 6\) and \(\varepsilon=+\) if the index is maximal and \(\varepsilon=-\) otherwise). Application to other such Fisher pairs including the three sporadic Fischer groups will follow.