Group algebras which are direct products of division algebras. (Q1766174)

The group algebra \(K[G]\) is semisimple if the characteristic of the field \(K\) does not divide the order of the (finite) group \(G\). The simple components of \(K[G]\) are then matrix algebras \(M_{n_i}(D_i)\) over division algebras \(D_i\). The authors' question is when all the \(n_i\) are \(=1\), that is, when is \(K[G]\) a direct product of division algebras \(D_i\)? This happens exactly when the same is true for \(K=\mathbb{Q}\). The main theorem says that \(\mathbb{Q}[G]=D_1\times\cdots\times D_r\) if and only if \(G\) is either Abelian or of the type \(Q_8\times A\), where \(Q_8\) is the classical quaternion group and \(A\) is an Abelian group with the following properties: (i) its Sylow 2-group is elementary Abelian, (ii) for every prime factor \(p\neq 2\) of \(|A|\), the order of \(2\bmod p\) is odd. This leads the authors to study which primes \(p\neq 2\) satisfy the last condition. Trivially, so do the primes \(p\equiv-1\pmod 8\), and all other primes coming into question are \(\equiv 1\pmod 8\). About the primes of the last kind they obtain a result depending on the residue class mod\,{16} of \(p\); moreover they show that the Dirichlet density of such primes is \(1/24\).