Representations of symmetric groups with non-trivial determinant

Abstract

We give a closed formula for the number of partitions $λ$ of $n$ such that the corresponding irreducible representation $V_λ$ of $S_n$ has non-trivial determinant. We determine how many of these partitions are self-conjugate and how many are hooks. This is achieved by characterizing the $2$-core towers of such partitions. We also obtain a formula for the number of partitions of $n$ such that the associated permutation representation of $S_n$ has non-trivial determinant.

22 pages, 4 figures