On the graded center of the stable category of a finite \(p\)-group. (Q847693)

For a commutative ring \(k\) and a \(k\)-linear triangulated category \(\mathcal C\) with shift functor \(\Sigma\), the graded center \(Z^*(\mathcal C)\) is the graded \(k\)-algebra whose component in degree \(n\in\mathbb{Z}\) consists of all \(k\)-linear natural transformations \(\varphi\colon\text{Id}_{\mathcal C}\to\Sigma^n\) such that \(\Sigma\varphi=(-1)^n\varphi\Sigma\). The authors consider the special case where \(k\) is an algebraically closed field of characteristic \(p>0\) and \(\mathcal C\) is the stable module category \(\underline{\text{mod}}(kP)\), for a finite \(p\)-group \(P\) of rank at least 2. They show that \(Z^n(\underline{\text{mod}}(kP))\) has infinite dimension when \(n\) is odd, and also when \(p=2\) and \(n\) is even. This answers an earlier question by the first author [Proc. Edinb. Math. Soc., II. Ser. 52, No. 2, 489-514 (2009; Zbl 1208.20008)].