Counting characters of small degree in upper unitriangular groups. (Q712191)

Let \(q\) be a prime power, and let \(U_n(q)\) be the group of upper triangular \(n\times n\) matrices with all diagonal entries equal to 1. It is known that all complex irreducible character degrees of \(U_n(q)\) are powers of \(q\) and that all powers \(q^e\) occur for \(0\leq e\leq\mu(n)\), where the upper bound \(\mu(n)\) is defined by the formulas \(\mu(2m)=m(m-1)\) and \(\mu(2m+1)=m^2\). A conjecture of Lehrer states that the number \(N_{n, e}(q)\) of irreducible characters having degree \(q^e\) is some polynomial in \(q\) with integer coefficients (depending on \(n\) and \(e\)), and a recent strengthening of this conjecture by Isaacs states that \(N_{n, e}(q)\) is even a polynomial in \(q-1\) with nonnegative coefficients. In earlier work by \textit{M. Marjoram} [Ir. Math. Soc. Bull. 42, 21-31 (1999; Zbl 0964.20023) and his unpublished dissertation] and \textit{I. M. Isaacs} [J. Algebra 315, No. 2, 698-719 (2007; Zbl 1127.20031)] the numbers \(N_{n, e}(q)\) were studied (and thereby the above-mentioned conjectures confirmed) for very small and very large values of \(e\). The paper under review continues the study of the small values of \(e\) and uses an elementary method to construct recursive formulas for \(N_{n, e}(q)\) when \(e\leq 3\), confirming Lehrer's and Isaacs' conjecture in these cases. (Note that the cases \(e\leq 2\) were already known from Marjoram's work.)