The root number function in symmetric groups (Q1176673)

If \(G\) is a finite group and \(k \in N\), then the mapping \(r^ k_ G : G \to N\) defined by \[ r^ k_ G(g) = | \{h \in G\mid h^ k = g\}| \] is called the \(k\)th root number function. It is clearly a class function and indeed a generalised character but not necessarily a character (the quaternion group is a counterexample for \(k = 2\)). If \(\chi\) is an arbitrary irreducible character of \(G\), then \[ c^ k_ \chi := (r^ k_ G,\chi) = | G|^{-1} \sum_{g \in G} \chi(g^{-k}). \] In the case \(k = 2\), \(c^ k_ \chi\) is exactly the so-called Frobenius-Schur indicator. A. Kerber has conjectured that for the symmetric group \(S_ n\), \(r^ k_{S_ n}\) is a proper character of \(S_ n\); that is, for all partitions \(\lambda\) of \(n\), \(| S_ n|^{-1} \sum \chi^ \lambda(g^ k) \in N\). That conjecture is now proved in this paper.