The number of string C-groups of high rank

Abstract: If $G$ is a transitive group of degree $n$ having a string C-group of rank $r\geq (n+3)/2$, then $G$ is necessarily the symmetric group $S_n$. We prove that if $n$ is large enough, up to isomorphism and duality, the number of string C-groups of rank $r$ for $S_n$ (with $r\geq (n+3)/2$) is the same as the number of string C-groups of rank $r+1$ for $S_{n+1}$. This result and the tools used in its proof, in particular the rank and degree extension, imply that if one knows the string C-groups of rank $(n+3)/2$ for $S_n$ with $n$ odd, one can construct from them all string C-groups of rank $(n+3)/2+k$ for $S_{n+k}$ for any positive integer $k$. The classification of the string C-groups of rank $r\geq (n+3)/2$ for $S_n$ is thus reduced to classifying string C-groups of rank $r$ for $S_{2r-3}$. A consequence of this result is the complete classification of all string C-groups of $S_n$ with rank $n-\kappa$ for $\kappa\in{1,\ldots,6}$, when $n\geq 2\kappa+3$, which extends previously known results. The number of string C-groups of rank $n-\kappa$, with $n\geq 2\kappa +3$, of this classification gives the following sequence of integers indexed by $\kappa$ and starting at $\kappa = 1$: $$(1,1,7,9,35,48)$$ This sequence of integers is new according to the On-Line Encyclopedia of Integer Sequences. It will be available as sequence number A359367.