Stable basic sets for finite special linear and unitary groups (Q502647)

Let \(\ell\) be a prime number. A finite group \(G\) has a unitriangular decomposition matrix in characteristic \(\ell\) if the irreducible ordinary characters and irreducible \(\ell\)-modular Brauer characters of \(G\) can be arranged such that the first \(|\mathrm{IBr}(G)|\) rows of the decomposition matrix of \(G\) is a lower unitriangular matrix, where \(\mathrm{IBr}(G)\) is the set of \(\ell\)-modular Brauer characters. The set of corresponding \(|\mathrm{IBr}(G)|\) ordinary characters is called a unitriangular basic set in characteristic \(\ell\). Let \(q\) be a power of some prime number \(p\) and \(\ell\) be a prime number not dividing \(q\). Let \(n \geq 2\) and let \(G \in \{ \mathrm{SL}_n(q), \mathrm{SU}_n(q) \}\) be either the special linear or unitary group over a finite field with \(q\) elements. In the reviewed paper, it is shown that \(G\) has a unitriangular basic set in characteristic \(\ell\) that is stable under the action of \(\Aut(G)\). Let \(\tilde{G} = \mathrm{GL}_n(q)\) (resp. \(\mathrm{GU}_n(q)\)) and \(G = \mathrm{SL}_n(q)\) (resp. \(G = \mathrm{SU}_n(q)\)). The obtained unitriangular basic set for \(G\) is explicitly built from a unitriangular basic set for \(\tilde{G}\).