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Forthere are $2n$ linear characters, given by $a\mapsto {\xi }^j$, $b\mapsto 1$ for a primitive $(2n)$th root of unity $\xi$, and $n$ two-dimensional irreducible representationswhere ${\omega }^3=1$ and $\omega \ne 1$. The two-dimensional representations parametrized by $\epsilon$ and $-\epsilon$ are isomorphic. The sum of squares of irreducible degrees is $2n+4n=6n$, so this list is complete.

Write $N=⟨a⟩$. The relation $ba{b}^{-1}=a^2$ lets every element be expressed as $a^i{b}^j$ with $0\le i<7$ and $0\le j<3$. There are 21 such expressions, so the assumption $|G|=21$ makes them distinct. In particular $a$ has order seven, $b$ has order three, and $N$ is a normal subgroup. This is the nonabelian group of order 21, the semidirect product $C_7⋊C_3$ with the action given by multiplication by two modulo seven.

Conjugation by $a$ fixes $N$, while conjugation by $b$ sends $a^i$ to $a^{2i}$. The nonidentity conjugacy classes inside $N$ are thereforeFor the other elements, direct calculation givesWhen $j=1$ or $2$, the coefficient $1-2^j$ is nonzero modulo seven, so letting $t$ vary gives every member of the coset $N{b}^j$. These cosets cannot merge under conjugation, since $G/N$ is an abelian group and conjugation acts trivially on that quotient group. Thus the five conjugacy classes have representatives and sizes

To find the linear characters, note that the commutator subgroup $G^{\prime }$ contains $ba{b}^{-1}{a}^{-1}=a$. The quotient group $G/N\cong C_3$ is abelian, so $G^{\prime }\subseteq N$; hence $G^{\prime }=N$. The abelianization is $C_3$. With $\omega =e^{2\pi i/3}$, its three linear characters areThis exhausts the linear characters because one-dimensional characters factor through the abelianization.

For the remaining irreducible characters, put $\zeta =e^{2\pi i/7}$ and take the linear characters ${\theta }_t$ of $N$ defined by ${\theta }_t(a)={\zeta }^t$. The six nontrivial linear characters form two orbits under conjugation, with exponent sets $\{1,2,4\}$ and $\{3,5,6\}$. Define the induced charactersFor $a^i\in N$, the character formula for an induced representation givesBoth vanish outside $N$, since no element outside a normal subgroup can be conjugate into it. This is induction from an abelian normal subgroup with a free character orbit. For completeness, its irreducibility here follows directly from Frobenius reciprocity and character orthogonality on the cyclic group $N$:The same calculation with ${\theta }_3,{\theta }_5,{\theta }_6$ proves that $\overline{\psi }$ is an irreducible character.

LetThe sum of the nontrivial seventh roots of unity gives $\alpha +\beta =-1$. Squaring and reducing exponents modulo seven givesThus $\alpha ,\beta$ are the two polynomial roots of $T^2+T+2$, andTo fix the signs with our specified $\zeta$, observe that $\mathrm{Im}\alpha =\sin (2\pi /7)+\sin (3\pi /7)-\sin (\pi /7)>0$, using the increase of sine on $(0,\pi /2)$. These Gaussian periods for seventh roots of unity make the answer explicit.

The resulting character table isThe two degree-three irreducible characters are distinct because $\alpha \ne \beta$. Together with the three linear characters, they exhaust the irreducible characters: the sum of squares of irreducible degrees is $3\cdot 1^2+2\cdot 3^2=21=|G|$. Equivalently, we have five distinct irreducible characters for the five conjugacy classes.

As a check on part (b), inversion interchanges $K_1$ and $K_2$, and also interchanges the two conjugacy classes outside $N$. Only the identity conjugacy class is real. Correspondingly ${\lambda }_0$ is the only real-valued character among the irreducible characters; ${\lambda }_1,{\lambda }_2$ and $\psi ,\overline{\psi }$ are two conjugate pairs.

Write $o(\theta )$ for the order of the determinant character of an irreducible character $\theta$. An extension has the same degree and restricts exactly to $\theta$, rather than just containing it as a constituent.

Extension theorem. Thompson's coprime character extension theorem says that if $N◃G$, $\theta \in \mathrm{Irr}(N)$ is $G$-invariant, and $\gcd (\theta (1),[G:N])=1$, then $\theta$ extends to $G$ exactly when its determinant character extends to a linear character of $G$. In particular, if also $\gcd (o(\theta ),[G:N])=1$, there is a unique extension with determinant order coprime to the index. For a p-group quotient, the version used below gives a canonical extension whenever both the degree and the determinant order are prime to $p$. This theorem is an assertion of extendibility, not the false statement that every invariant irreducible character extends.

The p-nilpotency lemma. Definewhere $m_p$ is the largest power of $p$ dividing an integer $m$. Isaacs' character-degree criterion for p-nilpotency assertsEquivalently, $s_p(G{)}_p=h_p(G)$. We prove both the divisibility and the criterion.

Let $N=O^p(G)$ be the p-residual of a finite group, the least normal subgroup with p-group quotient. It can also be described as the subgroup generated by all p-prime-order elements: every homomorphism to a p-group kills those elements, and after quotienting by their generated subgroup the image of every element has p-power order, so the quotient is a p-group by Cauchy's theorem.

The residual is p-perfect, meaning $O^p(N)=N$. Indeed $O^p(N)$ is characteristic in $N$, hence normal in $G$, and $G/O^p(N)$ is an extension of the two p-groups $N/O^p(N)$ and $G/N$. Minimality of $N$ forces equality. Consequently $N/N^{\prime }$ has order prime to $p$, since otherwise it would have a quotient of order $p$. Every linear character of $N$, in particular every determinant character of $N$, therefore has order prime to $p$.

Let $\mathcal{T}$ consist of the $G$-invariant irreducible characters $\theta$ of $N$ of degree prime to $p$. Each extends to an irreducible character $\hat{\theta }$ of $G$ by the extension theorem. The irreducible characters of $G$ lying over $\theta$ are exactlyHere is the representation argument for this description. If a representation lies over the invariant $\theta$, its $N$-module is copies of the module for $\theta$. Identify it with that module tensored with its multiplicity space. Dividing the $G$-action by the fixed extending action on the first factor leaves an action on the multiplicity space, trivial on $N$. Irreducibility is equivalent to irreducibility of that quotient action, proving the displayed parametrization.

Every irreducible degree of the p-group $G/N$ is a power of $p$, since it divides the group order. Thus the p-prime-degree characters lying over $\theta$ are exactly those with $\nu$ linear, and there areof them. For the last equality, $G/N{G}^{\prime }$ is the largest abelian p-group quotient of $G$, hence the p-primary part of its abelianization. In particular all these characters have degree $\theta (1)$.

Conversely, for any $\chi \in \mathrm{Irr}(G)$ of p-prime degree, Clifford theory writes its restriction to $N$ as $e$ times the sum of a single orbit of irreducible characters. The orbit size divides $[G:N]$ and also divides $\chi (1)$, so it is one; the constituent $\theta$ is invariant and has p-prime degree. Hence $\theta \in \mathcal{T}$. The preceding extension parametrization now forces the quotient character to be linear. We have therefore obtained the exact identityThis proves the required divisibility without assuming p-nilpotency.

The p-group $G/N$ acts on $\mathrm{Irr}(N)$ by conjugation. Every nonfixed orbit has size divisible by $p$, and degrees are constant on each orbit. Fixed characters whose degrees are divisible by $p$ also contribute zero modulo $p$. The sum of squares of irreducible degrees consequently givesThe quotient is prime to $p$ exactly when $N$ has order prime to $p$. Since $G/N$ is a p-group, that is exactly the assertion that $N$ is a normal p-complement. Conversely, any normal p-complement equals $O^p(G)$ because it contains all p-prime-order elements and has p-group quotient. This finishes the lemma.

Detection from the group algebra. For finite groups $G$ and $H$ with isomorphic complex group algebras, the Artin–Wedderburn theorem givesThe simple matrix-block sizes and their multiplicities are determined by the algebra isomorphism. Hence $G$ and $H$ have identical irreducible degree multisets. They have the same order, from the degree-square sum, and the same number of linear characters, which equals $|G:G^{\prime }|$. Thus $s_p$ and $h_p$ coincide for every prime $p$. The lemma shows that one group is p-nilpotent exactly when the other is.

A finite group is nilpotent exactly when it has a normal p-complement for every prime dividing its order. For completeness, if all those complements exist, set $L_q={\bigcap }_{p\ne q}{K}_p$, where $K_p$ is the normal p-complement. The diagonal map $G/L_q\to {\prod }_{p\ne q}G/K_p$ is injective, so $[G:L_q]$ is prime to $q$. At the same time, containment in each $K_p$ removes every prime other than $q$ from $|L_q|$. Thus $L_q$ is a normal Sylow q-subgroup. Distinct normal Sylow subgroups commute, giving the direct-product decomposition. Conversely, the direct-product decomposition of a finite nilpotent group provides all the complements. We concludeThis is the assertion that the complex group algebra detects p-nilpotency and hence nilpotency. It needs the multiplicities of the degrees, not just their distinct values.

Normal-complement consequence. If $p$ divides every nonlinear irreducible degree, the p-prime-degree characters are exactly the linear characters. ThereforeThe lemma yields a normal p-complement immediately:This proves Thompson's character-degree normal complement theorem, including the abelian case where the hypothesis on nonlinear characters is vacuous.

Use the tableau representation supplied by Young seminormal form, stated explicitly in Question 5, or its normalized Young orthogonal form. It constructs the complex Specht module $S^{\lambda }$ with one basis vector for each standard Young tableau of shape $\lambda$. Its adjacent-transposition matrices imply the content eigenvalues directly.

Indeed, start with $X_1=0$ and use $X_{i+1}=s_i{X}_i{s}_i+s_i$. On an admissible pair $T,R=s_{i}T$, set $a=c_T(i)$, $b=c_T(i+1)$, $d=b-a$, and $q=\sqrt{1-d^{-2}}$. In the orthogonal basis, $X_i$ is $\mathrm{diag}(a,b)$ andMultiplication givesFor a nonadmissible swap, $s_i=\pm 1$ and the next content differs by the same $\pm 1$, giving the same conclusion. Induction therefore proves $X_i{w}_T=c_T(i)w_T$. Every content vector of a standard Young tableau, reconstructed as a standard Young tableau in part (iv), is consequently a spectral weight. Together with the reverse inclusion,

An admissible adjacent swap has nonzero off-diagonal coefficient in Young orthogonal form, and the local spectral calculation in part (i) keeps it inside one irreducible representation. Thus $\alpha \approx \beta$ implies $\alpha \sim \beta$.

Two standard Young tableaux of one shape are connected by admissible swaps. Regard each as a linear extension of a partially ordered set of cells. Move the first cell of the desired extension to the front of the other extension: every cell it crosses is incomparable with it, since otherwise their order would be forced in both extensions. Repeat after fixing that first cell. Each step swaps consecutive labels in incomparable cells. Such cells lie strictly northeast and southwest of each other, so their contents differ by at least $2$ in absolute value. These are exactly admissible swaps.

This also establishes irreducibility of the constructed tableau representations. A submodule is invariant under the commuting $X_j$ and hence under their joint spectral projections; since their weights are distinct, it is a sum of tableau lines. A nonzero off-diagonal coefficient propagates any included line along every admissible edge, and connectivity then includes all lines. Different shapes give nonisomorphic modules, since their content-vector sets are disjoint and content reconstruction determines the shape. Finally, the Robinson–Schensted correspondence gives ${\sum }_{\lambda ⊢n}{f}_{\lambda }^2=n!$, and the sum of squares of irreducible degrees leaves room for no other irreducible representations.

Thus within each irreducible module the weights are exactly the tableaux of one shape, so $\alpha \sim \beta$ implies $\alpha \approx \beta$. Hence the two equivalence relations coincide.

In the abelianization, the relation $a^{-1}ba=b^{-1}$ becomes $b=b^{-1}$. Together with $b^3=1$ this forces $b=1$, soConsequently there are $2n$ linear characterswhere $\xi =e^{2\pi i/(2n)}$.

The representations from part (i), denoted ${\rho }_{\epsilon }$, are irreducible: the two eigenspaces of $B$ are its only invariant lines, and $A$ exchanges them. The character of a representation agrees for two parameters exactly when their squares agree, so ${\rho }_{\epsilon }\cong {\rho }_{-\epsilon }$ and there are $n$ pairwise nonisomorphic two-dimensional representations. Their squared dimensions sum toThe sum of squares of irreducible degrees proves that no others exist. Hence the complete list isThis is the classification of the Irreducible representations of G6n.

Let $|G|=p^2$. By irreducible character degree divides the group order, each irreducible degree divides $p^2$. A degree is at most $\sqrt{|G|}=p$ by the sum of squares of irreducible degrees. If a degree $p$ occurred, its square would already consume the entire sum $p^2$, leaving no room for the trivial character. Hence every irreducible degree is one. A finite group has only linear irreducible characters exactly when it is abelian, so every group of order $p^2$ is abelian.

Let $|G|=pq$ with primes $p>q$ and $G$ nonabelian. The Sylow theorems give $n_p\mid q$ and $n_p\equiv 1(\mathrm{mod}p)$, so $n_p=1$ and the Sylow $p$-subgroup $P$ is normal. Also $n_q\mid p$ and $n_q\equiv 1(\mathrm{mod}q)$. If $n_q=1$, both Sylow subgroups are normal and $G$ is their abelian direct product, a contradiction. Hence $n_q=p$, and

Because $G/P$ is abelian, the commutator subgroup $G^{\prime }$ lies in $P$. It is nontrivial because $G$ is nonabelian, and $|P|=p$ is prime, so $G^{\prime }=P$. Thereforeand $G$ has exactly $q$ linear characters.

Every nonlinear irreducible degree divides $pq$. Its square is at most $pq$, so the only possibility is degree $q$. If there are $b$ such characters, the sum of squares of irreducible degrees givesThe number of irreducible characters equals the number of conjugacy classes, soThese are the irreducible characters of a nonabelian group of order p q.

The subgroups $⟨A,B⟩$ and $⟨C,D⟩$ each have order eight, their elements commute across the two subgroups, and their intersection is exactly $⟨Z⟩$. ThereforeSince $G^{\prime }=⟨Z⟩$, the abelianization $G/G^{\prime }$ has order $16$ and is generated by the four commuting involutions represented by $A,B,C,D$. It is isomorphic to $(C_2{)}^4$, so it has sixteen one-dimensional complex representations, obtained by independently sending $A,B,C,D$ to $\pm 1$ and sending $Z$ to $1$.

These characters contribute $16$ to the sum of squares of irreducible degrees. The given irreducible representation has degree four and contributes another $16$. Part (a) and $|G|=32$ show that no other irreducible representations exist. Thus the complete list is the sixteen linear characters and the given four-dimensional representation.