Unit groups of integral group rings: old and new. (Q380406)

Let \(G\) be a group and \(R\) a ring. The group ring of \(R\) over \(G\) is denoted \(RG\). The integral group ring of \(G\) is \(\mathbb ZG\). The group of invertible elements of \(RG\) is denoted by \(U(RG)\). In this expository article the author surveys some of the important developments on the unit group of group rings. The main emphasis is on the unit group of integral group rings and the main aim is to give to non-experts a good impression on the interplay between arithmetic and number theory on one side and group and representation theory on the other side. The author succeeds well in doing so in this relatively short paper. The main topics covered are: (1) Constructions of units (Bass units, bicyclic units, trivial units), (2) Constructions of free subgroups, (3) Construction of subgroups of finite index in \(U(\mathbb ZG)\), (4) Torsion units and the Zassenhaus conjecture (if \(G\) is a finite group and \(u\) is a periodic unit in \(U(\mathbb ZG)\) then \(u\) is conjugate within \(U(\mathbb QG)\) to an element of \(\pm G\)), (5) The Gruenberg-Kegel graph of \(U(\mathbb ZG)\).