Characters of projective representations of symmetric groups (Q584386)

As stated in the introduction, this paper presents an ``updated account of Schur's theory of characters of projective representations of the symmetric group in a way as self-contained as possible''. Other recent papers of a similar nature include [\textit{P. N. Hoffman}, \textit{J. F. Humphreys}, Can. J. Math. 38, 1380-1458 (1986; Zbl 0659.20011); \textit{A. Morris} in Comb. Represent. groupe symétrique, Strasbourg, 1976, Lect. Notes Math. 579, 136-154 (1977; Zbl 0365.20018); \textit{B. E. Sagan}, J. Comb. Theory, Ser. A 45, 62-103 (1987; Zbl 0661.05010); \textit{J. R. Stembridge}, Adv. Math. 74, 87-134 (1989; Zbl 0677.20012); \textit{D. B. Wales}, J. Algebra 61, 37-57 (1979; Zbl 0433.20010); \textit{D. R. Worley}, A theory of shifted Young tableaux (Ph. D. thesis, M.I.T. 1984)]. The basic characteristic of the approach under review is an application of the theory of semisimple superalgebras as treated in the author's survey [Proc. Varna Conf. 1986, Lect. Notes Math. 1352, 96-113 (1988; Zbl 0666.17001)]. This theory is more or less directly deduced from results about central simple graded algebras obtained by \textit{C. T. C. Wall} [J. Reine Angew. Math. 213, 187-199 (1964; Zbl 0125.019)]. Its applicability to the theory of projective characters of the symmetric group \(S_ n\) comes from an embedding of a representation group \(\tilde S_ n\)- whose equivalence classes of ``negative linear representations'' are in bijective correspondence with the equivalence classes of projective representations of \(S_ n\) (for \(n\geq 4)\)- into a Clifford algebra in such a way that the embedding preserves certain \({\mathbb{Z}}/2\)- gradings. As always in this context, Schur's theory of symmetric functions enters; namely, the author defines a ring of \(\tilde S_ n\)- supermodules (for all n) and proves that it is isomorphic to the ring of symmetric Q-functions introduced by Schur. The passage from \(\tilde S_ n\)-supermodules to \(\tilde S_ n\)-modules is carried out in detail and leads to Schur's description of irreducible projective characters of \(S_ n.\) In my opinion this is a well written presentation of Schur's theory.