Extra special defect groups of order \(p^3\) and exponent \(p^2\). (Q2572075)

Let \(p\) be a prime, let \(B\) be a \(p\)-block of a finite group \(G\) with an extraspecial defect group \(D\) of order \(p^3\) and exponent \(p^2\), and let \(e\) be the inertial index of \(B\) (so that \(e\) divides \(p-1\)). The author shows that \(N_G(D)\) controls the fusion of \(B\)-subpairs. For a non-negative integer \(i\), \(k_i(B)\) denotes the number of irreducible ordinary characters in \(B\) of height \(i\). The author proves that \(k_0(B)\leq p^2\) and \(k_0(B)+p^2k_1(B)\leq p^3\). This verifies conjectures of Olsson and Brauer for these blocks. Let \(k(B)\) and \(l(B)\) denote the number of irreducible ordinary and modular characters, respectively, in \(B\), and let \(m(B)\) denote the multiplicity of 1 as an elementary divisor of the Cartan matrix of \(B\). The author shows that \(k(B)-l(B)=(p^2-1)/e+(p-1)e\) and that \(l(B)-m(B)=e\). He conjectures that \(m(B)=0\) for this type of blocks, and he verifies his conjecture in case \(D\) is normal in \(G\).