As a generalization of the modular isomorphism problem we study the behavior of defect groups under Morita equivalence of blocks of finite groups over algebraically closed fields of positive characteristic. We prove that the Morita equivalence class of a block B of defect at most 3 determines the defect groups of B up to isomorphism. In characteristic 0 we prove similar results for metacyclic defect groups and 2-blocks of defect 4. In the second part of the paper we investigate the situation for p-solvable groups G. Among other results we show that the group algebra of G itself determines if G has abelian Sylow p-subgroups.
A Classification of the Isomorphism Types of Indecomposable and Simple Modules that Refines the Green Theory in Finite Group Modular Representation Theory
Let $p$ be a prime and let $G$ be a finite $p$-group. We show that the isomorphism type of the maximal abelian direct factor of $G$, as well as the isomorphism type of the group algebra over $\mathbb F_p$ of the non-abelian remaining direct factor, are determined by $\mathbb F_p G$, generalizing the main result in arXiv:2110.10025 over the prime field. In order to do this, we address the problem of finding characteristic subgroups of $G$ such that their relative augmentation ideals depend only on the $k$-algebra structure of $kG$, where $k$ is any field of characteristic $p$, and relate it to …
Külshammer, Olsson, and Robinson developed an l-analogue of modular representation theory of symmetric groups where l is not necessarily a prime. They gave a conjectural combinatorial description for invariant factors of the Cartan matrix in this context. We confirm their conjecture by proving a more precise blockwise conjecture due to Bessenrodt and Hill.
Let $E$ be the natural representation of the special linear group $\mathrm{SL}_2(K)$ over an arbitrary field $K$. We use the two dual constructions of the symmetric power when $K$ has prime characteristic to construct an explicit isomorphism $\mathrm{Sym}_m \mathrm{Sym}^\ell E \cong \mathrm{Sym}_\ell \mathrm{Sym}^m E$. This generalises Hermite reciprocity to arbitrary fields. We prove a similar explicit generalisation of the classical Wronskian isomorphism, namely $\mathrm{Sym}_m \mathrm{Sym}^\ell E \cong \bigwedge^m \mathrm{Sym}^{\ell+m-1} E$. We also generalise a result first proved by King,…
Let $p$ be a an odd prime and let $G$ be a finite $p$-group with cyclic commutator subgroup $G'$. We prove that the exponent and the abelianization of the centralizer of $G'$ in $G$ are determined by the group algebra of $G$ over any field of characteristic $p$. If, additionally, $G$ is $2$-generated then almost all the numerical invariants determining $G$ up to isomorphism are determined by the same group algebras; as a consequence the isomorphism type of the centralizer of $G'$ is determined. These claims are known to be false for $p=2$.
Let $\mathcal{O}_2$ and $\mathcal{O}'_2$ be two distinct finite local rings of length two with residue field of characteristic $p$. Let $\mathbb{G}(\mathcal{O}_2)$ and $\mathbb{G}(\mathcal{O}'_2)$, be the group of points of any reductive group scheme $\mathbb{G}$ over $\mathbb{Z}$ such that $p$ is very good for $\mathbb{G} \times \mathbb{F}_q$. We prove that there exists an isomorphism of group algebra $K[\mathbb{G}(\mathcal{O}_2)] \cong K[\mathbb{G}(\mathcal{O}'_2)]$, where $K$ is a sufficiently large field of characteristic different from $p$.
Let V_* be the normalized unitary subgroup of the modular group algebra FG of a finite p-group G over a finite field F with the classical involution *. We investigate the isomorphism problem for the group V_*, that asks when the group V_* is determined by its group algebra FG. We confirm it for classes of finite abelian p-groups, 2-groups of maximal class and non-abelian 2-groups of order at most 16.
The finite dimensional simple modular Lie algebras with Cartan matrix cannot be deformed if the characteristic p of the ground field is equal to 0 or greater than 3. If p=3, the orthogonal Lie algebra o(5)is one of the two simple modular Lie algebras with Cartan matrix that have deformations (the Brown algebras br(2; a) are among these 10-dimensional deforms and hence are not counted separately); the 29-dimensional Brown algebra br(3) is the only other simple Lie algebra with Cartan matrix that has deformations. Kostrikin and Kuznetsov described the orbits (isomorphism classes) under the actio…
We show that if $B$ is a block of a finite group algebra $kG$ over an algebraically closed field $k$ of prime characteristic $p$ such that $\HH^1(B)$ is a simple Lie algebra and such that $B$ has a unique isomorphism class of simple modules, then $B$ is nilpotent with an elementary abelian defect group $P$ of order at least $3$, and $\HH^1(B)$ is in that case isomorphic to the Jacobson-Witt algebra $\HH^1(kP)$. In particular, no other simple modular Lie algebras arise as $\HH^1(B)$ of a block $B$ with a single isomorphism class of simple modules.
Suppose that G is a connected reductive group over a p-adic field F, that K is a hyperspecial maximal compact subgroup of G(F), and that V is an irreducible representation of K over the algebraic closure of the residue field of F. We establish an analogue of the Satake isomorphism for the Hecke algebra of compactly supported, K-biequivariant functions f: G(F) \to End V. These Hecke algebras were first considered by Barthel-Livne for GL_2. They play a role in the recent mod p and p-adic Langlands correspondences for GL_2(Q_p), in generalisations of Serre's conjecture on the modularity of mod p …
Let $R$ be a finite unital commutative ring. We introduce a new class of finite groups, which we call hereditary groups over $R$. Our main result states that if $G$ is a hereditary group over $R$ then a unital algebra isomorphism between group algebras $RG \cong RH$ implies a group isomorphism $G \cong H$ for every finite group $H$. As application, we study the modular isomorphism problem, which is the isomorphism problem for finite $p$-groups over $R = \mathbb{F}_p$ where $\mathbb{F}_p$ is the field of $p$ elements. We prove that a finite $p$-group $G$ is a hereditary group over $\mathbb{F}_p…
Let F be a non-Archimedean locally compact field of residue characteristic p, let D be a finite dimensional central division F-algebra and let R be an algebraically closed field of characteristic different from p. To any irreducible smooth representation of G=GL(m,D) with coefficients in R, we can attach a uniquely determined inertial class of supercuspidal pairs of G. This provides us with a partition of the set of all isomorphism classes of irreducible representations of G. We write R(G) for the category of all smooth representations of G with coefficients in R. To any inertial class O of su…
Let F be a non-Archimedean locally compact field with residual characteristic p, let G be an inner form of GL(n,F) for a positive integer n and let R be an algebraically closed field of characteristic different from p. When R has characteristic $\ell>0$, the image of an irreducible smooth R-representation $π$ of G by the Aubert involution need not be irreducible. We prove that this image (in the Grothendieck group of G) contains a unique irreducible term $π$* with the same cuspidal support as $π$. This defines an involution on the set of isomorphism classes of irreducible R-representations of …
By the geometric Satake isomorphism of Mirkovic and Vilonen, decomposition numbers for reductive groups can be interpreted as decomposition numbers for equivariant perverse sheaves on the complex affine Grassmannian of the Langlands dual group. Using a description of the minimal degenerations of the affine Grassmannian obtained by Malkin, Ostrik and Vybornov, we are able to recover geometrically some decomposition numbers for reductive groups. In the other direction, we can use some decomposition numbers for reductive groups to prove geometric results, such as a new proof of non-smoothness res…
In previous work a relation between a large class of Kac-Moody algebras and meromorphic connections on global curves was established---notably the Weyl group gives isomorphisms between different moduli spaces of connections, and the root system is also seen to play a role. This involved a modular interpretation of many Nakajima quiver varieties, as moduli spaces of connections, whenever the underlying graph was a complete k-partite graph (or more generally a supernova graph). However in the isomonodromy story, or wild nonabelian Hodge theory, slightly larger moduli spaces of connections are co…
A classical linear group $G<GL(n)$ acts on $d$-tuples of $n\times n$ matrices by simultaneous conjugation. Working over an infinite field of characteristic different from two we establish that the ideal of free relations, i.e. relations valid for matrices of any order, between generators for matrix O(n)- and $\Sp(n)$-invariants is zero. We also prove similar result for invariants of mixed representations of quivers. These results can be considered as a generalization of the characteristic isomorphism ${\rm ch}:\Sym\to J$ between the graded ring $\Sym=\otimes_{d=0}^{\infty} \Sym_d$, where $\Sym…
We define an action of the extended affine d-strand braid group on the open positroid stratum in the Grassmannian Gr(k,n), for d the greatest common divisor of k and n. The action is by quasi-automorphisms of the cluster structure on the Grassmannian, determining a homomorphism from the extended affine braid group to the cluster modular group. We also define a quasi-isomorphism between the Grassmannian Gr(k,rk) and the Fock-Goncharov configuration space of 2r-tuples of affine flags for SL(k). This identifies the cluster variables, clusters, and cluster modular groups, in these two cluster stru…
