Rouquier blocks. (Q818575)

This paper investigates the Rouquier blocks of the Hecke algebras of the symmetric groups and the Rouquier blocks of the \(q\)-Schur algebras. The main results include the determination of the decomposition numbers of these blocks in the ``Abelian defect group case''. For fields of characteristic zero, or when \(q=1\) these results are known; but the remarkable feature in this paper is that these results are also shown to be true for fields of positive characteristic with \(q\neq 1\). In particular, James' conjecture is true for these blocks. Finally, the authors apply these results to show that certain Specht modules are irreducible.