The maximal subgroups of the exceptional groups $F_4(q)$, $E_6(q)$ and ${}^2E_6(q)$ and related almost simple groups

TL;DR

This paper provides a comprehensive classification of all maximal subgroups of certain exceptional finite groups of Lie type, including new findings and corrections, using advanced algebraic and computational techniques.

Contribution

It offers the first complete enumeration of maximal subgroups for these groups in three decades, including new subgroups and corrections to previous lists.

Findings

Complete list of maximal subgroups for $F_4(q)$, $E_6(q)$, and ${}^2E_6(q)$

Identification of Lie primitive almost simple subgroups

Introduction of new maximal subgroup for ${}^2 ext{F}_4(8)$

Abstract

This article produces a complete list of all maximal subgroups of the finite simple groups of type $F_4$, $E_6$, and twisted $E_6$ over all finite fields. Along the way, we determine the collection of Lie primitive almost simple subgroups of the corresponding algebraic groups. We give the stabilizers under the actions of outer automorphisms, from which one can obtain complete information about the maximal subgroups of all almost simple groups with socle one of these groups. We also provide a new maximal subgroup of ${}^2\!F_4(8)$, correcting the maximal subgroups for that group from the list of Malle. This provides the first new exceptional groups of Lie type to have their maximal subgroups enumerated for three decades. The techniques are a mixture of algebraic groups, representation theory, computational algebra, and use of the trilinear form on the 27-dimensional minimal module for $E_6$. We provide a collection of auxiliary Magma files that prove the author's computational claims, yielding existence and the number of conjugacy classes of all maximal subgroups mentioned in the text.