Character degree graph of a finite group
Definition
Suppose is a finite group. The character degree graph of , sometimes denoted , is defined as the following undirected graph:
- Its vertex set is precisely the set of primes such that divides the degree of at least one irreducible representation of over (we could replace by any splitting field). Note that the precise vertex set can be determined using the Ito-Michler theorem from knowledge of the Sylow subgroup structure, without knowledge of the degrees of irreducible representations.
- Its edge set is defined as follows: two distinct primes are adjacent if and only if the product divides the degree of at least one irreducible representation of over (we could replace by any splitting field).
Note that the character degree graph is completely determined number-theoretically by the degrees of irreducible representations (also called the character degrees). In fact, it depends only on the set of numbers occurring as character degrees, without even caring for the number of irreducible representations of a given degree.
Particular cases
| Case on | What can we conclude about the character degree graph? |
|---|---|
| abelian group | empty graph (no vertices, no edges) |
| non-abelian group of prime power order for some prime number | one-point graph with point corresponding to |
| finite nilpotent group | the graph is a complete graph with its vertex set equal to the set of primes for which the -Sylow subgroup of is non-abelian |