Paper 3, Section II, H

Representation Theory | Part II, 2012

Show that every complex representation of a finite group GG is equivalent to a unitary representation. Let χ\chi be a character of some finite group GG and let gGg \in G. Explain why there are roots of unity ω1,,ωd\omega_{1}, \ldots, \omega_{d} such that

χ(gi)=ω1i++ωdi\chi\left(g^{i}\right)=\omega_{1}^{i}+\cdots+\omega_{d}^{i}

for all integers ii.

For the rest of the question let GG be the symmetric group on some finite set. Explain why χ(g)=χ(gi)\chi(g)=\chi\left(g^{i}\right) whenever ii is coprime to the order of gg.

Prove that χ(g)Z\chi(g) \in \mathbb{Z}.

State without proof a formula for gGχ(g)2\sum_{g \in G} \chi(g)^{2} when χ\chi is irreducible. Is there an irreducible character χ\chi of degree at least 2 with χ(g)0\chi(g) \neq 0 for all gGg \in G ? Explain your answer.

[You may assume basic facts about the symmetric group, and about algebraic integers, without proof. You may also use without proof the fact that 1ingcd(i,n)=1ωiZ\sum_{\substack{1 \leqslant i \leqslant n \\ \operatorname{gcd}(i, n)=1}} \omega^{i} \in \mathbb{Z} for any nnth root of unity ω.]\omega .]

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