Splendid Derived Equivalences for Blocks of Finite Groups

A central issue in finite group modular representation theoryis the relationship between the p-local structure and the p-modularrepresentation theory of a given finite group. In [5], Brouéposes some startling conjectures. For example, he conjecturesthat if e is a p-block of a finite group G with abelian defectgroup D and if f is the Brauer correspondent block of e of thenormalizer, N_G(D), of D then e and f have equivalent derivedcategories over a complete discrete valuation ring with residuefield of characteristic p. Some evidence for this conjecturehas been obtained using an important Morita analog for derivedcategories of Rickard [11]. This result states that the existenceof a tilting complex is a necessary and sufficient conditionfor the equivalence of two derived categories. In [5], Brouéalso defines an equivalence on the character level between p-blockse and f of finite groups G and H that he calls a ‘perfectisometry’ and he demonstrates that it is a consequenceof a derived category equivalence between e and f. In [5], Brouéalso poses a corresponding perfect isometry conjecture betweena p-block e of a finite group G with an abelian defect groupD and its Brauer correspondent p-block f of N_G(D) and presentsseveral examples of this phenomena. Subsequent research hasprovided much more evidence for this character-level conjecture. In many known examples of a perfect isometry between p-blockse, f of finite groups G, H there are also perfect isometriesbetween p-blocks of p-local subgroups corresponding to e andf and these isometries are compatible in a precise sense. In[5], Broué calls such a family of compatible perfectisometries an ‘isotypy’. In [11], Rickard addresses the analogous question of defininga p-locally compatible family of derived equivalences. In thisimportant paper, he defines a ‘splendid tilting complex’for p-blocks e and f of finite groups G and H with a commonp-subgroup P. Then he demonstrates that if X is such a splendidtilting complex, if P is a Sylow p-subgroup of G and H and ifG and H have the same ‘p-local structure’, thenp-local splendid tilting complexes are obtained from X via theBrauer functor and ‘lifting’. Consequently, in thissituation, we obtain an isotypy when e and f are the principalblocks of G and H. Linckelmann [9] and Puig [10] have also obtained important resultsin this area. In this paper, we refine the methods and program of [11] toobtain variants of some of the results of [11] that have widerapplicability. Indeed, suppose that the blocks e and f of Gand H have a common defect group D. Suppose also that X is asplendid tilting complex for e and f and that the p-local structureof (say) H with respect to D is contained in that of G, thenthe Brauer functor, lifting and ‘cutting’ by blockindempotents applied to X yield local block tilting complexesand consequently an isotypy on the character level. Since thep-local structure containment hypothesis is satisfied, for example,when H is a subgroup of G (as is the case in Broué'sconjectures) our results extend the applicability of these ideasand methods.     

On Huppert’s Conjecture for 3 D 4(q), q ≥ 3

Let G be a finite group and cd(G) be the set of all complex irreducible character degrees of G. Bertram Huppert conjectured that if H is a finite nonabelian simple group such that cd(G) = cd(H), then G???H × A, where A is an abelian group. In this paper, we verify the conjecture for the family of simple exceptional groups of Lie type ³ D ₄(q), when q?≥?3.     

Symmetric Groups, Wreath Products, Morita Equivalences, and Broue's Abelian Defect Group Conjecture

It is shown that for any prime p, and any non-negative integerw less than p, there exist p-blocks of symmetric groups of defectw, which are Morita equivalent to the principal p-block of thegroup S_p S_w. Combined with work of J. Rickard, this provesthat Broué's abelian defect group conjecture holds forp-blocks of symmetric groups of defect at most 5.     

Broue's Conjecture for the Hall-Janko Group and its Double Cover

Broué's abelian defect conjecture suggests a deep linkbetween the module categories of a block of a group algebraand its Brauer correspondent, viz. that they should be derivedequivalent. We are able to verify Broué's conjecturefor the Hall–Janko group, even its double cover 2.J₂,as well as for U₃(4) and Sp₄(4). In fact we verify Rickard'srefinement to Broué's conjecture and show that the derivedequivalence can be chosen to be a splendid equivalence for theseexamples. 2000 Mathematical Subject Classification: 20C20, 20C34.     

Perverse equivalences and Brouéʼs conjecture

We give a new approach to the construction of derived equivalences between blocks of finite groups, based on perverse equivalences, in the setting of Broué?s abelian defect group conjecture. We provide in particular local and global perversity data describing the principal blocks and the derived equivalences for a number of finite simple groups with Sylow subgroups elementary abelian of order 9. We also examine extensions to automorphism groups in a general setting.     

3-Blocks with Abelian defect groups isomorphic to Z_{3^m } \times Z_{3^n }

Let G be a finite group and let p be a fixed prime number. Let B be a p-block of G with defect group D. In this paper, we give results on 3-blocks with abelian defect groups isomorphic to Z3m ×Z3n. We are particularly interested in the number of irreducible ordinary characters and the number of irreducible Brauer characters in the block. We calculate two important block invariants k（B） and l（B） in this case.     

Counting MSTD sets in finite abelian groups

In an abelian group G, a more sums than differences (MSTD) set is a subset A⊂G such that |A+A|>|A−A|. We provide asymptotics for the number of MSTD sets in finite abelian groups, extending previous results of Nathanson. The proof contains an application of a recently resolved conjecture of Alon and Kahn on the number of independent sets in a regular graph.     

Characters and Sylow 2-subgroups of maximal class revisited

We give two ways to distinguish from the character table of a finite group G if a Sylow 2-subgroup of G has maximal class. We also characterize finite groups with Sylow 3-subgroups of order 3 in terms of their principal 3-block.     

Blocks with nonabelian defect groups which have cyclic subgroups of index p

In representation theory of finite groups, one of the most important and interesting problems is that, for a p-block A of a finite group G where p is a prime, the numbers k(A) and ℓ(A) of irreducible ordinary and Brauer characters, respectively, of G in A are p-locally determined. We calculate k(A) and ℓ(A) for the cases where A is a full defect p-block of G, namely, a defect group P of A is a Sylow p-subgroup of G and P is a nonabelian metacyclic p-group M _n+1(p) of order p ⁿ⁺¹ and exponent p ⁿ for n \geqslant 2{n \geqslant 2}, and where A is not necessarily a full defect p-block but its defect group P = M _n+1(p) is normal in G. The proof is independent of the classification of finite simple groups.     

On Perfect Isometries for Tame Blocks

Any 2-block of a finite group G with a quaternion defect groupQ₈ is Morita equivalent to the corresponding block of the centraliserH of the unique involution of Q₈ in G; this answers positivelyan earlier question raised by M. Broué. 2000 MathematicsSubject Classification 20C20.     

A theorem of Jon F. Carlson on filtrations of modules

We give an alternative proof to a theorem of Carlson [J.F. Carlson, Cohomology and induction from elementary abelian subgroups, Quart. J. Math. 51 (2000) 169-181] which states that if G is a finite group and k is a field of characteristic p, then any kG-module is a direct summand of a module which has a filtration whose sections are induced from elementary abelian p-subgroups of G. We also prove two new theorems which are closely related to Carlson’s theorem.     

Ghosts in modular representation theory

A ghost over a finite p-group G is a map between modular representations of G which is invisible in Tate cohomology. Motivated by the failure of the generating hypothesis—the statement that ghosts between finite-dimensional G-representations factor through a projective—we define the ghost number of kG to be the smallest integer l such that the composite of any l ghosts between finite-dimensional G-representations factors through a projective. In this paper we study ghosts and the ghost numbers of p-groups. We begin by showing that a weaker version of the generating hypothesis, where the target of the ghost is fixed to be the trivial representation k, holds for all p-groups. We then compute the ghost numbers of all cyclic p-groups and all abelian 2-groups with C₂ as a summand. We obtain bounds on the ghost numbers for abelian p-groups and for all 2-groups which have a cyclic subgroup of index 2. Using these bounds we determine the finite abelian groups which have ghost number at most 2. Our methods involve techniques from group theory, representation theory, triangulated category theory, and constructions motivated from homotopy theory.     

On Olsson’s conjecture for blocks with metacyclic defect groups of odd order

Let G be a finite group, and let B be a p-block of G with defect group D. Let k ₀(B) denote the number of ordinary irreducible characters of height 0 in B. In 1984 Olsson proposed a conjecture: k₀(B)\leqq |D:D￠|{k_{0}(B)\leqq |D:D'|}. In this paper, we will verify Olsson’s conjecture in the case that D is metacyclic and p is odd.     

A note on the p-local rank

In this paper, we give an inductive definition of p-local rank of a p-block in a finite group G with p||G| and show a necessary and sufficient condition for a p-block B such that plr(B) = 2.Received: 10 March 2004     

Verifying Huppert’s Conjecture for PSp<Subscript>4</Subscript>(<Emphasis Type="Italic">q</Emphasis>) when <Emphasis Type="Italic">q</Emphasis> > 7

Let G denote a finite group and cd (G) the set of irreducible character degrees of G. Bertram Huppert conjectured that if H is a finite nonabelian simple group such that cd (G) = cd (H), then G ≅ H × A, where A is an abelian group. Huppert verified the conjecture for PSp₄(q) when q = 3, 4, 5, or 7. In this paper, we extend Huppert’s results and verify the conjecture for PSp₄(q) for all q. This demonstrates progress toward the goal of verifying the conjecture for all nonabelian simple groups of Lie type of rank two.     

Group algebra series and coboundary modules

The shift action on the 2-cocycle group Z²(G,C) of a finite group G with coefficients in a finitely generated abelian group C has several useful applications in combinatorics and digital communications, arising from the invariance of a uniform distribution property of cocycles under the action. In this article, we study the shift orbit structure of the coboundary subgroup B²(G,C) of Z²(G,C). The study is placed within a well-known setting involving the Loewy and socle series of a group algebra over G. We prove new bounds on the dimensions of terms in such series. Asymptotic results on the size of shift orbits are also derived; for example, if C is an elementary abelian p-group, then almost all shift orbits in B²(G,C) are maximal-sized for large enough finite p-groups G of certain classes.     

Verifying Huppert's Conjecture for PSL3(q) and PSU3(q 2)

Let G be a finite group and cd(G) be the set of irreducible character degrees of G. Bertram Huppert conjectured that if H is a finite nonabelian simple group such that cd(G) = cd(H), then G ? H × A, where A is an abelian group. We examine arguments to verify this conjecture for the simple groups of Lie type of rank two. To illustrate our arguments, we extend Huppert's results and verify the conjecture for the simple linear and unitary groups of rank two.     

Metaplectic operators for finite abelian groups and ?

The Segal-Shale-Weil representation associates to a symplectic transformation of the Heisenberg group an intertwining operator, called metaplectic operator. We develop an explicit construction of metaplectic operators for the Heisenberg group H(G) of a finite abelian group G, an important setting in finite time-frequency analysis. Our approach also yields a simple construction for the multivariate Euclidean case G = ?^d.     

The ordinary quiver of a weight three block of the symmetric group is bipartite

Suppose F is a field of characteristic p?5, and that B is a p-block of the symmetric group Sn of defect 3. We prove that the Ext¹-quiver of B is bipartite, with the bipartition being described in a simple way using the leg-lengths of p-hooks of partitions.     

On infinite tournaments with regular automorphism groups

Atournament regular representation (TRR) of an abstract groupG is a tournamentT whose automorphism group is isomorphic toG and is a regular permutation group on the vertices ofT. L. Babai and W. Imrich have shown that every finite group of odd order exceptZ ₃ ×Z ₃ admits a TRR. In the present paper we give several sufficient conditions for an infinite groupG with no element of order 2 to admit a TRR. Among these are the following: (1)G is a cyclic extension byZ of a finitely generated group; (2)G is a cyclic extension byZ _2n+1 of any group admitting a TRR; (3)G is a finitely generated abelian group; (4)G is a countably generated abelian group whose torsion subgroup is finite.