Groups where the centers of the irreducible characters form a chain (Q2187961)

This paper studies and classifies finite groups where certain kinds of subgroups form a chain, such as \begin{itemize} \item groups where the kernels of the (irreducible complex) characters form a chain, \item groups where the kernels of the nonlinear irreducible characters form a chain, \item nested groups (i.e., there is a containment relation between any two centers of irreducible characters), \item nested GVZ-groups (where a GVZ group is a group where each character vanishes outside its center). \end{itemize} There is a wealth of results in this paper, some of them linked to earlier work of \textit{A. Nenciu} [J. Algebra Appl. 11, No. 2, 1250033, 12 p. (2012; Zbl 1255.20005); J. Group Theory 19, No. 4, 693--704 (2016; Zbl 1353.20003)]. Moreover, the paper presents a new proof of a theorem of \textit{I. M. Isaacs} [Proc. Am. Math. Soc. 96, 551--552 (1986; Zbl 0598.20003)] regarding the existence of \(p\)-groups with a given set of irreducible character degrees.