Subgroup coverings of some sporadic groups. (Q2500626)

A set of proper subgroups is a `covering' for a group if their union is the whole group. Determining the size \(\sigma(G)\) of a smallest covering is an open problem for many simple groups. For seven sporadic groups, \(M_{11}\), \(M_{22}\), \(M_{23}\), \(Ly\), \(O'N\), \(J_1\) and \(McL\), the author finds their \(\sigma(G)\). For others the author specifies the isomorphism types of subgroups in a smallest covering and uses graphs to calculate bounds for its size. A GAP program is used in this paper.