Two-element generation of the integral symplectic group \(\text{Sp}_ n(\mathbb{Z})\) (Q1907167)

An interesting problem in finite group theory is to find the minimal number of elements which generate a given group. So all finite simple groups can be generated by two suitable elements. A group is called \((r,s)\)-generated if \(G\) is generated by an element of order \(r\) and another element of order \(s\). The author considers the symplectic group \(\text{Sp}_n(\mathbb{Z})\) on a hyperbolic module \(V\) of even rank \(n\) over the rational integers \(\mathbb{Z}\). For \(n>2\), every element in \(\text{Sp}_n(\mathbb{Z})\) is a product of involutions. As main result, the author shows that \(\text{Sp}_n(\mathbb{Z})\) is generated by two elements. More in detail, \(\text{Sp}_n(\mathbb{Z})\) is \((3,4)\)-generated if \(n=2\), and, for \(n=2m>2\), \(\text{Sp}_n(\mathbb{Z})\) is generated by an involution and an element of order \(k\), where \(k=12(m-1)\) if \(m\) is even, and \(k=6(m-1)\) if \(m\) is odd.