Stabilizing bisets (Q664752)

Let \(R\) be a commutative ring and \(G\) a finite group. A \((G,G)\)-biset \(U\) is said to stabilize an \(RG\)-module \(M\) if \(RU \otimes_{RG} M\cong M\). The authors investigate this phenomenon in the case where \(M\) is indecomposable (or even simple) and \(U\) is transitive. In this case one has \(U \cong \text{Indinf}^{\,G}_{A/B} \text{ Iso}_\varphi \text{ Defres}^G_{S/T}\) where \(B \trianglelefteq A \leq G,~ T\trianglelefteq S \leq G\), and \(\varphi: S/T \longrightarrow A/B\) is an isomorphism; moreover, the quintuple \((A, B, S, T, \varphi)\) is unique up to conjugation. The stabilizing biset \(U\) is said to be minimal if \(|S/T| \leq |S'/T'|\) for any transitive \((G,G)\)-biset \(U'=\text{Indinf}^{\,G}_{A'/B'} \text{ Iso}_{\varphi'} \text{ Defres}^G_{S'/T'}\) stabilizing \(M\). The authors prove that any two minimal stabilizing bisets \(U=\text{Indinf}^{\,G}_{A/B} \text{ Iso}_{\varphi} \text{ Defres}^G_{S/T}\) and \(U'=\text{Indinf}^{\,G}_{A'/B'} \text{ Iso}_{\varphi'} \text{ Defres}^G_{S'/T'}\) of \(M\) are closely related; in particular, there exists \(g \in G\) such that the sections \((S',T')\) and \((^g\!A,~ ^g\!B)\) of \(G\) are linked. Here two sections \((S,T)\) and \((S',T')\) of \(G\) are called linked if the canonical maps \(S'/T' \longleftarrow (S\cap S')/(T\cap T') \longrightarrow S/T\) are isomorphisms. The authors present two methods in order to construct stabilizing bisets. One of them uses idempotent bisets where a \((G,G)\)-biset \(U\) is called idempotent if \(U \times_G U \cong U\). The other method has to do with expansive subgroups of \(G\). A subgroup \(T\) of \(G\) is called expansive if, for every \(g \in G-N_G(T)\), the \(N_G(T)\)-core of \((^gT \cap N_G(T))T\) contains \(T\) properly. Thus every normal subgroup of \(G\) is expansive. Now let \(K\) be a field. The authors prove that every simple \(KG\)-module \(M\) has a stabilizing biset of the form \(U=\text{Indinf}^{\,G}_{S/T} \text{ Defres}^G_{S/T}\) where \(T\) is expansive in \(G,~S=N_G(T)\) and \(S/T\) is a Roquette group; this means that every abelian normal subgroup of \(S/T\) is cyclic. If \(G\) is a \(p\)-group for a prime \(p\) and if \(\text{char} (K)\) is not divisible by \(p\) then all minimal stabilizing bisets of simple \(KG\)-modules come from expansive subgroups of \(G\), while if \(G\) is a \(p\)-group and \(\text{char} (K)=p\) then every minimal stabilizing biset of an indecomposable \(KG\)-module is idempotent.