A note on the number of irreducible characters in a p-block of a finite group (Q793148)

The author introduces the following conjecture: For any finite group G and any prime p, \(m(G)\geq \ell(B_ 0(G));\) here \(\ell(B_ 0(G))\) denotes the number of irreducible modular characters in the principal p- block \(B_ 0(G)\), and \(m(G)=| G_{p'}| /| G|_{p'},\) the number of p'-elements divided by the maximal p'-factor of \(| G|\). He points out connections with the Frobenius conjecture on the number of solutions of the equation \(x^ n=1\) and Brauer's conjecture on the number of ordinary characters in a block. He is able to prove these conjectures for p-solvable groups when the prime p is large compared with n, the sectional p-rank of G or the sectional rank of the defect group, respectively. The bound for p involves the function appearing in Jordan's theorem on complex linear groups.