A new cover of the 3-local geometry of \(\text{Co}_1\) (Q1281797)

The 3-local geometry \({\mathcal G}\) of the sporadic simple group \(\text{Co}_1\) is a rank 4 geometry with as elements the \(i\)-sets of mutually commuting subgroups of order 3, for \(i=1, 2, 3, 12\). The diagram is linear with respective rank 2 geometries: a triangle, a complete graph on 11 vertices, the (unique) generalized quadrangle of order (9,3). This geometry is covered by a 3-local geometry \(\widehat{\mathcal G}\) of the Monster sporadic simple group \(M\) (in fact, a subgeometry of the 3-local geometry), defined similarly as \({\mathcal G}\) above by replacing \(\text{Co}_1\) by the quotient over its center of the centralizer of a central involution in \(M\). This cover is \(2^{24}\)-fold and the corresponding group is \(2^{24}\cdot\text{Co}_1\). In the paper under review, the authors disprove the conjecture that \(\widehat{\mathcal G}\) is simply connected by establishing a double cover of it with group of the form \(2_+^{1+24}\cdot \text{Co}_1\). Of course, now the question arises whether this new geometry is simply connected.