Characters of the unitriangular group and the Mackey method (Q6988522)

Let \(U = \mathrm{UT}_n(\mathbb{F}_q)\) be the unitriangular group over a finite field. The authors study a class of irreducible complex characters of \(U\) of depth \(2\), following the orbit method of Kirillov and its refinements by \textit{C. A. M. André} [J. Algebra 241, No. 1, 437--471 (2001; Zbl 1013.20037)] and \textit{A. N. Panov} [J. Math. Sci., New York 161, No. 1, 122--129 (2009; Zbl 1246.17012)]. Characters of depth \(0\) and \(1\), corresponding respectively to coadjoint orbits of maximal and submaximal dimension, have been classified in earlier works. This paper provides a complete description of the support and values of depth \(2\) characters.\N\NThe Mackey little group method is used to reduce the problem inductively to smaller unitriangular groups. The authors classify all \(2\)-regular coadjoint orbits in the dual Lie algebra \(\mathfrak{u}^*\), describe their structure via explicit defining equations and construct canonical representatives using rook placements. The main result (Theorem 5.2) gives an explicit formula for the values of the characters on the associated conjugacy classes, expressed as products of values of the standard additive character \(\theta\) evaluated at certain polynomials determined by the orbit data.