Minimal dimension of faithful representations for \(p\)-groups (Q2629547)

Per the title, the focus of this paper is on determining the smallest dimension of a faithful representation of certain finite groups \(G\) (usually \(p\)-groups) over the complex numbers. Beyond the intrinsic interest in this number, in the context of \(p\)-groups, it is of additional interest because it may be identified with the essential dimension of \(G\), thanks to work of \textit{N. Karpenko} and \textit{A. Merkurjev} [Invent. Math. 172, No. 3, 491--508 (2008; Zbl 1200.12002)]. The authors begin with some discussion of the problem for general \(p\)-groups, but quickly specialize to the case of a finite two-step nilpotent \(p\)-group containing a cyclic commutator subgroup. For such groups, they provide an upper bound on the minimal faithful dimension. Using the Stone-von Neumann theorem (providing the existence of certain irreducible representations), the authors recover a precise formula for the dimension in terms of the center of the group. That formula had previously been found by \textit{A. Meyer} and \textit{Z. Reichstein} [Doc. Math., J. DMV Extra Vol., 445--457 (2010; Zbl 1277.20059)]. The authors then consider Heisenberg groups. Let \(F\) be a non-Archimedean local field with ring of integers \({\mathcal O}\) having unique maximal ideal \({\mathfrak p}\). One of the main results is a determination of the minimal faithful dimension of a Heisenberg group \(\mathrm{Heis}_{2k+1}({\mathcal O}/{\mathfrak p}^n)\) for arbitrary \(k\) and \(n\). This generalizes a result of \textit{S. Cernele} et al. [J. Group Theory 14, No. 4, 637--647 (2011; Zbl 1242.20008)] for the case \(n = 1\) and \({\mathcal O} = {\mathbb Z}_p\). The proof uses in part Wigner-Mackey theory to ensure the existence of a faithful representation of the claimed dimension. Let \({\mathbf U}_{k}({\mathcal O}/{\mathfrak p}^n) \subset \mathrm{GL}_{k}({\mathcal O}/{\mathfrak p}^n)\) denote the unitriangular matrices with entries in \({\mathcal O}/{\mathfrak p}^n\). Let \(G\) be any group such that \(\mathrm{Heis}_{2k+1}({\mathcal O}/{\mathfrak p}^n) \subseteq G \subseteq {\mathbf U}_{k+2}({\mathcal O}/{\mathfrak p}^n)\) and assume that the characteristic of \({\mathcal O}/{\mathfrak p}\) is odd. Building on the previous result, with the use of the Weil representation, the authors show that the minimal faithful dimension of \(G\) is the same as that of \(\mathrm{Heis}_{2k+1}({\mathcal O}/{\mathfrak p}^n)\). In a more general setting, the authors determine the minimal faithful dimension for a semi-direct product group \(C\rtimes H\) where \(H\) is a finite group acting on a cyclic group \(C\) of order a power of \(p\), with \(C\) being a faithful \(H\)-module. Lastly, they extend this further to certain affine groups. Given a commutative ring \(R\), let \(R^{\times}\) denote the group of units under multiplication. The associated affine group is \(\mathrm{Aff}(R) := R \rtimes R^{\times}\), where \(R^{\times}\) acts by multiplication on \(R\) (considered as a group under addition). The authors determine the minimal faithful dimension for the affine group \(\mathrm{Aff}({\mathcal O}/{\mathfrak p}^n)\).