Orthogonal units of the double Burnside ring (Q2199657)

The double Burnside ring of a finite group \(G\), denoted as \(B(G,G)\), is an important and interesting invariant in the representation theory of finite groups. It is a central object in the study of bi-set functors, which has in turn answered important questions in representation theory of finite groups. In particular, bi-set functors were used in determining the unit group of the standard Burnside ring for \(p\)-groups and in determining the Dade group of a finite group. Besides, it has also been the subject of study in connection to group fusion and algebraic topology. The main goal of the article under review is to begin a structural theory of orthogonal units of the double Burnside ring. To achieve this, the author first introduces inflation maps that embed units of double Burnside rings of quotient groups (see, for instance, Proposition 3.3). The author also defines isomorphism maps, and then shows that these maps behave well with the inflation maps in the bi-set sense. These maps restrict to maps between orthogonal unit groups as well. Second, the first main theorem in the paper (Theorem 4.6) establishes the existence of a naturally occurring elementary abelian \(2\)-subgroup of orthogonal units of \(B(G,G)\). These subgroups have a basis (in the sense of \(\mathbb{F}_2\) vector spaces) parametrized using the normal subgroups of the group \(G\). Lastly, the second main theorem in the paper (Theorem 1.1), begins the classification of these orthogonal unit groups for cyclic \(p\)-groups \(\mathrm{C}_{p^n}\), where \(p\) is a prime integer. The work is completed by giving a classification for all odd primes, leaving only the cases where \(p = 2\) and \(n > 1\). The paper is definitely well written and contributes to the subject substantially.