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18 votes
3 answers
3k views

Which groups have only real and quaternionic irreducible representations?

Consider a continuous irreducible representation of a compact Lie group on a finite-dimensional complex Hilbert space. There are three mutually exclusive options: 1) it's not isomorphic to its dual (...
John Baez's user avatar
  • 22.3k
8 votes
1 answer
208 views

Can the defining rep of $E_7$ split over a finite subgroup while the adjoint remains simple?

Does the (simply connected compact) Lie group $E_7$ contain a finite subgroup $G \subset E_7$ such that the $56$-dimensional irrep of $E_7$ splits over $G$ as $28 \oplus \overline{28}$, but the $133$-...
Theo Johnson-Freyd's user avatar
23 votes
1 answer
1k views

Geodesics in finite groups

It seems that I can generalize a result from compact, connected Lie groups to finite groups, but in order to do so, I need to have some kind of geodesics on finite groups. Below is a proposition for ...
Joonas Ilmavirta's user avatar
11 votes
1 answer
357 views

Alternating subgroups of $\mathrm{SU}_n $

$\DeclareMathOperator\PSU{PSU}$Let $ \PSU_n $ be the projective unitary group. Let $ A_m $ be the alternating group on $ m $ letters. $ A_5 $ is a maximal closed subgroup of $ PSU_2 \cong SO_3(\mathbb{...
Ian Gershon Teixeira's user avatar
10 votes
5 answers
3k views

Reference requested: Random walk on groups

I am looking for a good reference to learn about random walks on groups (either finite groups or Lie groups). Ideally, I would like a reference for general theory of random walks on groups that is ...
user47245's user avatar
  • 101
8 votes
0 answers
666 views

Approximating Lie groups by finite groups

How can one approximate compact Lie groups by finite groups? My wish is something like this: Let $G$ be a compact Lie group. There is a sequence of nested finite subgroups $G_n$ so that $G_n\to G$...
Joonas Ilmavirta's user avatar
6 votes
1 answer
368 views

Number of points on a linear algebraic group over a finite field

Let $G$ be a linear algebraic group defined over a finite field $\mathbb{F}_q$ as a variety of dimension $d$. What would be a good, simple lower bound for $G(F_q)$? One can get something fairly nice ...
H A Helfgott's user avatar
  • 20.2k
6 votes
1 answer
567 views

Finite simple groups and $ \operatorname{SU}_n $

A follow-up question to Alternating subgroups of $\mathrm{SU}_n $. $\DeclareMathOperator\PU{PU}\DeclareMathOperator\PSU{PSU}\DeclareMathOperator\PSL{PSL}$Let $ \PU_m $ be the projective unitary group, ...
Ian Gershon Teixeira's user avatar
4 votes
0 answers
226 views

Possible dimensions for triples of unitary irreducible representations whose tensor product contains the identity

For which triples $\{A,B,C\}$ of positive integers does there exist a (finite or compact) group $G$ with unitary irreducible representations of dimensions $A$,$B$, and $ C$ whose tensor product ...
Mark's user avatar
  • 163
3 votes
1 answer
503 views

Is the representation of finite simple groups fully understood?

Is the representation of finite simple groups fully understood? To clarify, I mean have all the simple representations (even finite dimensional) been classified in terms of some classifying set, such ...
Dick Johnson's user avatar