A supercharacter theory for involutive algebra groups. (Q2339488)

Let \(U_n(q)\) denote the group of \(n\times n\) upper unitriangular matrices over the finite field \(\mathbb F_q\). Then \(U_n(q)\) is a maximal unipotent subgroup of \(GL_n(q)\). The full description of irreducible characters of \(U_n(q)\) is a wild problem. Therefore, a new theory has been developed by \textit{C. A. M. André} [J. Algebra 175, No. 1, 287-319 (1995; Zbl 0835.20052); Proc. Am. Math. Soc. 130, No. 7, 1943-1954 (2002; Zbl 1005.20034)] and \textit{N. Yan} [``Representations of finite unipotent linear groups by the method of clusters'', (2010), \url{arXiv:1004.2674v1}]. Their basic idea was to define a set of (not necessarily irreducible) characters of \(U_n(q)\), which can be effectively computed, but which still proved to be useful in practice. The ideas of André and Yan was later generalized by \textit{P. Diaconis} and \textit{I. M. Isaacs} [Trans. Am. Math. Soc. 360, No. 5, 2359-2392 (2008; Zbl 1137.20008)] for algebra groups, i.e. for groups of the form \(P=1+J\), where \(J\) is a finite nilpotent associative algebra over \(\mathbb F_q\). In fact, they introduced the concept of supercharacter theory for an arbitrary finite group, and they defined a special type of supercharacter theory for algebra groups, which agreed with the construction of André and Yan for \(U_n(q)\). The aim of the paper under review is to define a supercharacter theory for another important class of finite groups, namely, for subgroups of algebra groups defined as \(C_P(\sigma)=\{x\in P\mid\sigma(x)=x^{-1}\}\), where \(P\) is any algebra group and \(\sigma\) is any involution on \(P\). As special cases, they get a supercharacter theory for the maximal unipotent subgroups of all the classical groups of Lie type over finite fields. In particular, applying this method for the maximal unipotent subgroups of the symplectic and orthogonal groups, one can reconstruct the supercharacter theory of these groups given by \textit{C. A. M. André} and \textit{A. M. Neto} [J. Algebra 305, No. 1, 394-429 (2006; Zbl 1104.20041); Pac. J. Math. 239, No. 2, 201-230 (2009; Zbl 1172.20006); J. Algebra 322, No. 4, 1273-1294 (2009; Zbl 1176.20006)]. Note that recently a similar construction was given by \textit{A. Scott} [J. Algebra 425, 1-30 (2015; Zbl 1326.20012)] for unipotent subgroups of the finite orthogonal, symplectic and unitary groups.