On Héthelyi-Külshammer's conjecture for principal blocks (Q6158353)

Let \(p\) be a prime and let \(B\) be a \(p\)-block of positive defect in a finite group \(G\). \textit{L. Héthelyi} and the reviewer [Bull. Lond. Math. Soc. 32, No. 6, 668--672 (2000; Zbl 1024.20016)] conjectured that \(k(B)\), the number of irreducible complex characters of \(G\) in \(B\), satisfies the inequality \(k(B) \geq 2 \sqrt{p-1}\). In the paper under review, the authors verify this lower bound in the special case where \(B\) is the principal \(p\)-block \(B_0(G)\). They also classify the groups \(G\) with \(k(B_0(G)) = 2 \sqrt{p-1}\). Their results extend earlier results by Maróti and others. In their proof, which is based on the classification of the finite simple groups, the authors have to overcome the difficulty that the Alperin-McKay conjecture has not yet been proved completely.