Symmetric presentations for the Fischer groups. II: The sporadic groups. (Q2571708)

[For part I see the authors, J. Algebra 265, No. 1, 171-199 (2003; Zbl 1027.20015).] Let \(2^{*n}\) be the \(n\)-fold free product of cyclic groups \(T_i\) of order 2 and \(N\) be a subgroup of \(\Sigma_n\). The semidirect product \(2^{*n}:N\) is called a progenitor. The second author has introduced this notion and investigated numerous groups \(G\) (in particular finite simple groups) as homomorphic images of such a progenitor, where the image of \(N\) in \(G\) is isomorphic to \(N\) and the image of \(\{t_1,\dots,t_n\}\), \(T_i=\langle t_i\rangle\), is of order \(n\) and intersects the image of \(N\) trivially. Such a presentation of \(G\) is called a symmetric presentation. The authors give symmetric presentations for \(M(23)\) from \(2^{*5775}S_{10}\) or \(2^{*13056}\text{Sp}_8(2)\), \(6M(22)\) from \(2^{*2304}(2^{1+6}\text{Sp}_6(2))\) and \(3M(24)\) from \(2^{*104448}(O^-_{10}(2):2)\). As the size of these presentations is that large, it is not possible to identify the groups by coset enumeration. In the first two cases they show that the group \(G\) possesses a conjugacy class of involutions \(X\) of the same size as the target group and \(\langle X\rangle=G\). Then as \(G\) is perfect, \(G\) is a central extension of the target group. As the Schur multiplier is under control it is easy to pin down the group \(G\). In the case of \(3M(24)\), they show that \(G\) acts flag transitively on some diagram geometry. By results of \textit{M. A. Ronan} [in: Finite geometries and designs, Lond. Math. Soc. Lect. Note Ser. 49, 316-331 (1981; Zbl 0467.51015)] and \textit{A. A. Ivanov} [Eur. J. Comb. 16, No. 2, 163-183 (1995; Zbl 0823.51015)] this geometry is simply connected and so \(G\cong 3M(24)\).