Constructing characters of Sylow \(p\)-subgroups of finite Chevalley groups (Q324239)

Suppose that \(q\) is a power of a prime \(p\) and \(G\) is a finite Chevalley group over the field of \(q\) elements \({\mathbb F}_q\). Let \(U\) be a Sylow \(p\)-subgroup of \(G\). In addition, it is assumed that \(p>2\) if \(G\) is of type B\(_r\), C\(_r\) or F\(_4\), and that \(p>3\) if \(G\) is of type G\(_2\). The authors study the representation theory of \(U\) so as to determine a parametrization of the irreducible characters of \(G\) and a means of constructing them as induced characters of linear characters of certain subgroups. They provide a method of successively reducing characters to smaller subquotients of \(U\), which leads to an algorithm whose goal is determining the irreducible characters of \(U\). The focus of this paper is to obtain a complete parametrization in the case in which \(G\) is of type F\(_4\). The parametrization is uniform over all primes \(p>3\) and, however, presents significant differences for the prime \(p=3\). The methods in this paper develop those used by \textit{F. Himstedt} et al. in [J. Algebra 332, No. 1, 414--427 (2001; Zbl 1242.20010); LMS J. Comput. Math. 19, No. 2, 303--359 (2016, Zbl 1360.20008)], and make significant progress. The approach is built on partitioning the irreducible characters of \(U\) in terms of the root subgroups that lie in their centers, but not in their kernels. There exist similarities to the theory of supercharacters, which was first introduced by \textit{C. A. M. André} [J. Algebra 241, No. 1, 437--471 (2001; Zbl 1013.20037)] and afterwards fully developed by \textit{P. Diaconis} and \textit{I. M. Isaacs} [Trans. Am. Math. Soc. 360, No. 5, 2359--2392 (2008; Zbl 1137.20008)].