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Write $A=RG$. An idempotent is an element $e$ with $e^2=e$; it is central idempotent when it commutes with every element of the ring. In a commutative ring centrality is automatic. Two idempotents are orthogonal idempotents if $ef=fe=0$. A nonzero primitive central idempotent cannot be expressed as the sum of two nonzero orthogonal central idempotents; this is primitivity in $Z(A)$, not necessarily primitivity in $A$.

A block of a group algebra is an indecomposable two-sided direct-summand ideal of $A$, equivalently an ideal $Ae$ with $e$ a primitive central idempotent. Here is the equivalence. If $A=B\oplus C$ as two-sided ideals, then $BC=CB=0$. Write $1=e+f$ with $e\in B,f\in C$. Multiplication by this equality shows that $e$ is the identity of $B$, that $f$ is the identity of $C$, and that $e,f$ are orthogonal central idempotents. Conversely a central idempotent gives $A=Ae\oplus A(1-e)$. Splitting the ideal further is therefore equivalent to splitting its central idempotent further.

For uniqueness, suppose $1={\sum }_i{e}_i={\sum }_j{f}_j$ are decompositions into primitive central idempotents. For each $i$,is an orthogonal central-idempotent decomposition. Exactly one summand is nonzero, and that summand equals $e_i$. Applying the same reasoning to the corresponding $f_j$ gives $e_i=f_j$. Thus the blocks, and their identities, are unique up to ordering. Existence in the paper's coefficient rings follows from finite-dimensionality over $k$, and over $\mathcal{O}$ from completeness and idempotent lifting of the decomposition modulo its maximal ideal.

Over $k$, a principal indecomposable module is an indecomposable summand of the regular left module $A=kG$, equivalently $P=Ae$ for a primitive idempotent $e$ of $A$. Put $J=J(A)$, the Jacobson radical. The head of a module $P/JP$ is nonzero and semisimple. It is simple: projectivity gives a surjectionwhose kernel consists of maps into $JP$ and is nilpotent, since a product of $r$ such maps sends $P$ into $J^{r}P$. If the head of a module split, a nontrivial projection on it would lift by idempotent lifting to a nontrivial projection on $P$, contradicting indecomposability. Every maximal submodule contains $JP$, since $J$ annihilates simple modules. The simplicity of the head of a module now proves $J(P)=JP$ is the unique maximal submodule, and $P$ is its head of a module's projective cover.

Choose the simple modules $S_1,\dots ,S_r$, with corresponding projective covers $P_1,\dots ,P_r$. Our convention for the Cartan matrix of a group algebra iswhere brackets denote the multiplicity in a composition series.

For the final two unheaded requests, retain the additional hypothesis $G=N{C}_G(N)$. Choose a central subgroup $Z=⟨z⟩$ of $N$ of order $p$. Every element of $N$ centralizes $Z$, and so does every element of $C_G(N)$; hence $Z\le Z(G)$. Set $t=z-1$, so $t$ is central and $t^p=0$, and $A/tA\cong k(G/Z)$.

To lift a central idempotent $\bar{e}$ of this quotient, first lift it as an idempotent $e$ by idempotent refinement theorem. Since $\bar{e}$ is central, $eA(1-e)\subseteq tA$. Multiplying a representation $ea(1-e)=tb$ on the left and right by $e,1-e$ givesThe other off-diagonal corner vanishes likewise, so $e$ is central. Two central lifts of the same idempotent coincide: their mismatched products $e(1-f)$ and $f(1-e)$ are idempotents in the nilpotent kernel and therefore zero. Primitivity is preserved because orthogonal idempotent decompositions lift. Thus the central $p$-quotient gives a bijection of block idempotents.

The quotient $G/Z$ still satisfies the required hypothesis for $N/Z$, because the image of $C_G(N)$ centralizes $N/Z$. Induction on $|N|$ therefore proves $\tau$ bijects the block idempotents of $kG$ and $k(G/N)$. The centrality argument is essential: a general nilpotent algebra quotient need not give a bijection of central block idempotents.

For the Cartan matrix of a group algebra, every projective $A$-module is free over $kZ$: $A$ is free over $kZ$, a projective $A$-module is a summand of a finite free $A$-module, and finite projectives over the local ring $kZ\cong k[t]/(t^p)$ are free. If $P$ is a principal indecomposable module, $\bar{P}=P/tP$ is a principal indecomposable module over $A/tA$: an idempotent splitting of its endomorphism ring would lift and split $P$. The $p$ quotients of its filtrationare all isomorphic to $\bar{P}$ as $k(G/Z)$-modules, by multiplication by the corresponding power of $t$. All simple modules are annihilated by the nilpotent ideal $tA$. Hence $[P:S]=p[\bar{P}:S]$, with the natural indexing of simple modules, and $C_G=p{C}_{G/Z}$. Iterating over $N$ givesThis is blocks and Cartan matrices under central p-quotients. The extra hypothesis is still in force: for example $N=C_3⊴S_3$ in characteristic three does not satisfy it, and its Group algebra Cartan matrix is $\left(\begin{array}{cc}2& 1\\ 1& 2\end{array}\right)$ rather than $3I$.

Use the usual Krull–Schmidt theorem setting, in which indecomposable summands have local endomorphism rings; the paper's rings $\mathcal{O},k$ satisfy it for the subgroups involved. The relative projective module condition for $H$ means that $M$ is a direct summand of a module induced from $H$, equivalently, $M$ is a summand of ${\mathrm{Ind}}_H^G{\mathrm{Res}}_H^{G}M$. A vertex of an indecomposable module is an inclusion-minimal such subgroup. A source of an indecomposable module at its module vertex $D$ is an indecomposable $RD$-summand $S$ of $M{\downarrow }_D$ such that $M\mid S{\uparrow }^G$.

Existence of a module source follows by decomposing $M{\downarrow }_D$ and using Krull–Schmidt theorem on the induced decomposition: the indecomposable summand $M$ must occur in the induction of one indecomposable summand $S$. Such $S$ has module vertex $D$ as a $D$-module, since relative projectivity of $S$ for a proper subgroup would make $M$ relatively projective for that subgroup.

In the paper's modular coefficient rings, an indecomposable module is a trivial source module when its module source is the rank-one trivial module $R$ of its module vertex. It is then a summand of $R[G/D]$, a permutation module. Conversely suppose $M$ is an indecomposable summand of a permutation module. Restriction to a module vertex $D$ is a sum of modules $R[D/E]$, one for each $D$-orbit of the permutation basis. For a $p$-group $D$, each transitive permutation module is indecomposable: over $k$ it has simple head of a module over the local ring $kD$, and over $\mathcal{O}$ a nontrivial splitting would give a nontrivial splitting after reduction. A module source $S$ must be one of these summands by Krull–Schmidt theorem. Its module vertex is $D$, whereas $R[D/E]$ is relatively $E$-projective. Thus $E=D$, and $S\cong R$. Therefore trivial module source is equivalent to being an indecomposable permutation-module summand.

The rank-one formulation uses the paper's coefficient rings. If the earlier general coefficient-ring wording were applied to a disconnected ring, it would need qualification: for $R=k\times k$ and $G=1$, $(k,0)$ is an indecomposable summand of the permutation module $R$, but is not the rank-one trivial module $R$. One can instead allow indecomposable summands of the trivial coefficient module as module sources in that generality.

For the homomorphism request, take $M_i=\mathcal{O}[G/H_i]$. Frobenius reciprocity and Mackey decomposition giveThe summand for $g$ is generated by the sum of the cosets in the $H_1$-orbit of $g{H}_2$. The identical orbit-sum construction over $k$ gives one copy of $k$ per double coset. These are free bases in both characteristics, since invariance means coefficients are constant on orbits, with no division by orbit size. HenceThe same argument applies to direct sums of coset permutation modules.

If $M$ is a trivial module source $kG$-module, choose a permutation lattice $X$ with $M\mid \bar{X}$. Its projection is an idempotent $f\in {\mathrm{End}}_{kG}(\bar{X})$. The endomorphism reduction is surjective by the preceding calculation. Its kernel is $\mathfrak{p}{\mathrm{End}}_{\mathcal{O}G}(X)$, and the endomorphism algebra is complete over $\mathcal{O}$. By idempotent refinement theorem, $f$ lifts to an idempotent $\hat{f}$. The lattice $\hat{f}X$ is a permutation-module summand, hence a trivial module source lattice, and reduces to $M$.

To prove uniqueness within the class of trivial module source lattices, let $L,L^{\prime }$ be two such lifts. They are summands of permutation lattices. Lift a modular isomorphism and its inverse between them by the same homomorphism-surjectivity argument, inserting the summand projections on either side. The lifted composites are identity modulo $\mathfrak{p}$ and therefore invertible over $\mathcal{O}$, by Nakayama lemma or the determinant criterion. The lifted maps are consequently inverse up to an invertible composite and give $L\cong L^{\prime }$. Thus each trivial module source module has a unique trivial module source lift up to isomorphism. This is permutation homomorphisms lift through modular reduction; uniqueness is not claimed among arbitrary lattice lifts.

For coset permutation modules, Mackey restriction formula and Frobenius reciprocity identify the homomorphism space with a free module having one orbit-sum basis vector per double coset. The same basis works over the residue field, so reduction of homomorphisms is surjective. Applied to endomorphisms of a permutation module, idempotent refinement theorem lifts each modular direct summand to a trivial source lattice. Lifting inverse isomorphisms between reductions shows uniqueness among trivial source lattices.