Landau's theorem, fields of values for characters, and solvable groups

Abstract

When $G$ is solvable group, we prove that the number of conjugacy classes of elements of prime power order is less than or equal to the number of irreducible characters with values in fields where $\mathbb {Q}$ is extended by prime power roots of unity. We then combine this result with a theorem of H\'ethelyi and K\"ulshammer that bounds the order of a finite group in terms of the number of conjugacy classes of elements of prime power order to bound the order of a solvable group by the number of irreducible characters with values in fields extended by prime power roots of unity. This yields for solvable groups a generalization of Landau's theorem.