Modular Decomposition Numbers of Cyclotomic Hecke and Diagrammatic Cherednik Algebras: a Path Theoretic Approach

We introduce a path theoretic framework for understanding the representation theory of (quantum) symmetric and general linear groups and their higher-level generalizations over fields of arbitrary characteristic. Our first main result is a ‘super-strong linkage principle’ which provides degree-wise upper bounds for graded decomposition numbers (this is new even in the case of symmetric groups). Next, we generalize the notion of homomorphisms between Weyl/Specht modules which are ‘generically’ placed (within the associated alcove geometries) to cyclotomic Hecke and diagrammatic Cherednik algebras. Finally, we provide evidence for a higher-level analogue of the classical Lusztig conjecture over fields of sufficiently large characteristic.