On semisimple classes and semisimple characters in finite reductive groups. (Q1931233)

Let \(\mathbf G\) be a simple connected reductive algebraic group defined over a finite field \(\mathbb F_q\) of characteristic \(p\), let \(F\colon\mathbf G\to\mathbf G\) denote the Frobenius endomorphism corresponding to this \(\mathbb F_q\)-structure, and let \(G:=\mathbf G^F\) be the subgroup of the \(F\)-fixed points of \(\mathbf G\). Fix a maximal torus \(\mathbf T\) of \(\mathbf G\), denote by \(Y(\mathbf T)\) the group of cocharacters of \(\mathbf T\), and put \(V_\mathbb R:=\mathbb R\otimes_\mathbb Z Y(\mathbf T)\). The author considers the \textit{Brauer complex}, which was introduced by Humphreys for describing \(p\)-modular representations of \(G\), and comes from the alcove geometry associated \(G\). Consider the set of hyperplanes in the Euclidean space \(V_\mathbb R\), which are the reflecting hyperplanes for the reflections in the associated affine Weyl group. The connected components of the set of points in the space not lying on any of these hyperplanes are open simplices called \textit{alcoves}. The Brauer complex is the open simplicial complex formed by the alcoves. In the particular case when \(\mathbf G\) is simply-connected, Deriziotis has proved that the \(F\)-stable semisimple classes in \(\mathbf G\) (and thus, the semisimple classes in \(G\)) are parametrized by the faces of the Brauer complex of maximal dimension. The paper under review provides a description of the faces which contain points with disconnected centralizers (Theorem~2.5), and computes the number of \(F\)-semisimple classes in \(\mathbf G\) with disconnected centralizer when \(\mathbf G\) is not of type \(\mathrm D_{2n}\) and has fundamental group of prime order. On the other hand, using a previous work of K.~Sorlin constructing extensions to \(G\rtimes\langle\sigma\rangle\) of Gel'fand-Graev characters of \(G\), with \(\sigma\) a quasi-central semisimple or unipotent automorphism of \(\mathbf G\), the author shows that, under some assumptions, the \textit{semisimple characters} of \(G\) extend to their inertia groups in the full autmorphism group \(\Aut(G)\). (Recall that the semisimple characters are the constituents of the images by the Alvis-Curtis duality of the Gel'fand-Graev characters.) Let \(\mathrm{Irr}(G)\) denote the set of irreducible characters of \(G\), and let \(\mathrm{Irr}_{p'}(G)\) be the subset of irreducible characters with degree prime to \(p\). Denote by \(|\mathrm{Irr}_{p'}(G)|\) the cardinality of \(\mathrm{Irr}_{p'}(G)\). John McKay has conjectured the equality \(|\mathrm{Irr}_{p'}(G)|=|\mathrm{Irr}_{p'}(\mathrm{N}_G(P))|\), for any fixed \(p\)-Sylow subgroup of \(G\), where \(\mathrm{N}_G(P)\) denotes the normalizer of \(P\) in \(G\). As an application of the results above, the author proves that the \textit{McKay Conjecture} holds for \(G\) in the following cases: \(\bullet\) at the prime \(p\), when \(\mathbf G\) is a simple simply-connected group of type \(\mathrm D_{2n+1}\), \(\bullet\) at \(p=2\) (resp. \(p=3\)), when \(\mathbf G\) is a simple simply-connected group of type \(\mathrm{E}_6\) (resp. \(\mathrm{E}_7\)). Isaacs, Malle and Navarro have reduced the McKay conjecture to a new question, the so-called \textit{inductive McKay condition}, which concerns properties of perfect central extensions of finite simple groups. The author proves that the inductive McKay condition holds in defining characteristic \(p>3\) for both untwisted and twisted simple groups of type \(\mathrm{E}_6\) (Theorems~4.9 and 4.10, respectively). It is worth to note that, very recently, by using a result of Maslowski, \textit{B.~Späth} [Bull. Lond. Math. Soc. 44, No. 3, 426-438 (2012; Zbl 1251.20020)] has proved that all the simple groups of Lie type satisfy the inductive McKay condition for the defining characteristic \(p\). In the non simply-laced types and non-classical types this reproves results by the author.