Scott's formula and Hurwitz groups. (Q497707)

A non-trivial finite group \(H\) is called a \textit{Hurwitz group} if it can be generated by two elements \(x\) and \(y\) such that \(x^2=y^3=(xy)^7=1\). Determining which finite simple groups are Hurwitz has been a topic of interest for the last \(35\) years or more. For the simple groups of Lie type, a theorem of \textit{L. L. Scott} [in Ann. Math. (2) 105, 473-492 (1977; Zbl 0399.20047)] has been particularly helpful. Scott's theorem (sometimes known as `Scott's formula') gives a necessary condition for two elements \(x\) and \(y\) of a linear group \(H\leq\text{GL}(V)\) to generate \(H\), based on the dimensions of certain subspaces of \(V\) associated with \(H\), \(x\), \(y\) and \(xy\). In this paper the authors use Scott's formula to determine exactly which finite simple groups occur as Hurwitz subgroups of \(\text{PGL}_n(F)\) when \(n\leq 7\) (and \(F\) is an algebraically closed field). This extends earlier work on the topic, by others and by the second author with M. Vsemirnov. They also provide explicit Hurwitz generators for the groups in some cases, namely \(G_2(q)\) for \(q\geq 5\), and the Janko groups \(J_1\) and \(J_2\) (in their \(7\)- and \(6\)-dimensional representations over \(\text{GF}(11)\) and \(\text{GF}(4)\), respectively).