On some exotic finite subgroups of \(E_8\) and Springer's regular elements of the Weyl group. (Q626564)

A proof (by Serre and by Cohen, Griess and Lisser) verified, in the special case of \(E_8\), a conjecture of the author, that the finite projective group \(L_2(61)\) embeds in \(E_8(\mathbb C)\). Subsequently, Griess and Ryba have shown (using computers) that \(L_2(49)\) and, in addition, (established by Serre without computers) \(L_2(41)\) also embed in \(E_8(\mathbb C)\). That is, if \(K=\{30, 24, 20\}\) and \(k\in K\) then \(L_2(2k+1)\) embeds in \(E_8(\mathbb C)\). In this paper it is shown that the ``Borel'' subgroup \(B(k)\) of \(L _2(2k+1)\), \(k\in K\), has a uniform construction. The theorem uses a result of T. Springer on the existence in \(E_8(\mathbb C)\) of three regular elements of the Weyl group, having orders \(k\in K\), and associated to the regular, subregular and subsubregular nilpotent elements. Springer's result generalizes (in the \(E_8\) case) a 1959 general result of the author relating the principal nilpotent element with the Coxeter element.