Greedy base sizes for sporadic simple groups (Q6935859)

The author determines the greedy base size \(\Gamma(G)\) for every finite almost simple primitive permutation group \(G\) with sporadic socle. Here, \(\Gamma(G)\) denotes the maximal size of a base obtained via the natural greedy algorithm, which at each step selects a point from a largest orbit of the current pointwise stabiliser. Motivated by a conjecture by \textit{P. J. Cameron} [Permutation groups. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. (1999; Zbl 0922.20003), p. 121], stating that \(\Gamma(G) \leq c \cdot b(G)\) for some absolute constant \(c\), the paper proves that \(\Gamma(G) = b(G)\) in all cases considered, thus verifying the conjecture for these groups with optimal constant \(1\).\N\NThe results confirm that the greedy algorithm yields optimal bases for all sporadic almost simple primitive groups, extending previous classifications of base sizes and giving further evidence for Cameron's conjecture. The paper also illustrates the effectiveness of fixed point ratio techniques in handling large permutation representations.