Irreducible constituents of minimal degree in supercharacters of the finite unitriangular groups. (Q2259173)

Let \(U_n(q)\) be the group of lower \(n\times n\) unitriangular matrices over the finite field \(\mathbb F_q\). Determining the conjugacy classes (consequently, the irreducible characters) of \(U_n(q)\) for general \(n\) and \(q\) seems to be a hopeless task by \textit{P. M. Gudivok} et al. [Cybernetics 26, No. 1, 47-57 (1990); translation from Kibernetika 1990, No. 1, 40-48 (1990; Zbl 0761.20022)]. Therefore, a new theory has been developed by \textit{C. A. M. André} [J. Algebra 175, No. 1, 287-319 (1995; Zbl 0835.20052)] and by \textit{N. Yan} [``Representations of finite unipotent linear groups by the method of clusters'', (2010; \url{arXiv:1004.2674v1})], which is now known as the André-Yan supercharacter theory and which was effective enough to analyze random walks on \(U_n(q)\) [\textit{E. Arias-Castro, P. Diaconis, R. Stanley}, J. Algebra 278, No. 2, 739-765 (2004; Zbl 1056.60006)]. Very basically, the André-Yan supercharacters for \(U_n(q)\) are some characters of \(U_n(q)\) such that every irreducible character of \(U_n(q)\) is a constituent in exactly one supercharacter (and they have some other nice properties). These supercharacters can be described in a combinatorial way. The paper under review has three main results: First, the authors give a lower bound for the degrees of the constituents in a supercharacter. They call an irreducible character minimal, if its degree is equal to this bound for the supercharacter containing it. Then the authors describe those supercharacters which contain a minimal character. They also give a formula, how many minimal characters are in such a supercharacter. Finally, they prove that if an irreducible character of \(U_n(q)\) is minimal, then it is induced from a linear character of a pattern subgroup. Note that this theorem cannot be generalized to all the irreducible characters of \(U_n(q)\) by a result of \textit{A. Evseev} [J. Algebra 325, No. 1, 321-351 (2011; Zbl 1220.20011)].