The last flag-transitive \(P\)-geometry (Q689859)

The \(P\)-geometries of the title are geometries obtained by repeated extensions of (the edge-vertex geometry of) the Petersen graph. Under the additional assumption that the automorphism group is transitive on flags, it turns out that there are just eight such geometries, corresponding to the sporadic simple groups \(M_{22}\), \(M_{23} \), \(Co_ 2\), \(J_ 4\) and \(BM\), and to certain non-split extensions \(3M_{22}\), \(3^{23} Co_ 2\) and \(2^{4371}BM\). This paper is concerned with the construction of this last geometry. The main part of the proof is given in Section 3, where it is shown that the amalgam of the rank 2 parabolic subgroups of \(BM\) is not isomorphic to \(BM\) (in the language of geometries, the \(P\)-geometry for the Baby Monster has a proper 2-covering). This is done by embedding the amalgam in a group \(3^{13571955000}BM\), which is a non-split extension by \(BM\) of a certain module on which \(BM\) acts monomially. Then in Section 5 and 6 various counting arguments etc. are used to show that the group generated by the given parabolic subgroups is a (clearly non-split) extension \(3^{4371}BM\). \{Note: The authors' reference [10] appears in Geom. Dedicata 45, No. 1, 1-23 (1993), and reference [17] in Proc. Edin. Math. Soc. 37, 185-189 (1993)\}.