Another way to count characters (Q4243152)

We have been working for several years on some conjectures concerning the number of characters of given defect in a given block of a finite group \(G\). When \(G\) is simple with cyclic outer automorphism group, the most general form of those conjectures is equivalent to a weaker form, called the ``Invariant Projective Conjecture''. To state the latter we must embed \(G\) as a normal subgroup in some finite group \(E\) such that the factor group \(F=E/G\) is cyclic. We also need a totally split twisted group algebra \(\mathfrak A\) of \(E\) over a suitable field \(\mathfrak F\) of characteristic zero. We fix a \(p\)-block \(B\) of the restriction \({\mathfrak A}[G]\) of \(\mathfrak A\) to \(G\), an integer \(d\), and a subgroup \(I\) of \(F\). For each \(p\)-chain \(C\) of \(G\) we define \(k(C,B,d,I)\) to be the number of irreducible \(\mathfrak F\)-characters \(\phi\) of \({\mathfrak A}[N_G(C)]\) such that the \(p\)-block of \({\mathfrak A}[N_G(C)]\) containing \(\phi\) induces \(B\), the defect of \(\phi\) equals \(d\), and the stabilizer \(N_E(C,\phi)\) of \(\phi\) in \(N_E(C)\) has image \(I\) in \(F\). The Invariant Projective Conjecture is that \[ \sum_{C\in{\mathcal E}(G)/G} (-1)^{| C|}k(C,B,d,I)=0 \] whenever \(B\) has strictly positive defect. Here \({\mathcal E}(G)/G\) is an arbitrary set of representatives for the \(G\)-orbits of elementary \(p\)-chains of \(G\). The main theorem of the present paper is that this conjecture for cyclic \(F\) is equivalent, under certain mild assumptions, to another ``Adjoint Conjecture'', which involves a \(p\)-block \(B'\) of \({\mathfrak A}[E]={\mathfrak A}\), an integer \(d'\), and a subgroup \(I'\) of the dual group \(\widehat F\) to \(F\). For each \(p\)-chain \(C'\) of \(E\) we define \(k'(C',B',d',I')\) to be the number of irreducible \(\mathfrak F\)-characters \(\psi\) of \({\mathfrak A}[N_E(C')]\) such that the \(p\)-block of \({\mathfrak A}[N_E(C')]\) containing \(\psi\) induces \(B'\), the defect of \(\psi\) is equal to \(d'\), and the stabilizer of \(\psi\) in \(\widehat F\) (under a natural ``adjoint action'' of \(\widehat F\) as automorphisms of \({\mathfrak A}[N_E(C)]\)) is equal to \(I'\). The Adjoint Conjecture is that \[ \sum_{C'\in{\mathcal E}(E)/E} (-1)^{| C'|}k'(C',B',d',I')=0 \] whenever \(B'\) has strictly positive defect. The Adjoint Conjecture holds trivially when the largest normal \(p\)-subgroup \(O_p(E)\) of \(E\) is not 1. If \(O_p(E)=1\), and if the Invariant Projective Conjecture holds for every subgroup properly contained in \(G\), we show that the Invariant Projective Conjecture holds for \(B\), \(d\) and \(I\) if and only if the Adjoint Conjecture holds for certain related \(B'\), \(d'\) and \(I'\). The latter conjecture is much easier to verify than the former when \(G\) is the alternating group \(A_n\) on \(n\geq 5\) letters, and \(E\) is the symmetric group \(S_n\) on those letters. We plan to show in a later paper how the Adjoint Conjecture for these groups can be reduced to a simpler statement, which Olsson has been able to verify in many cases. Ultimately, we hope to prove the original conjecture in this way for all alternating groups and their covering groups.