Ore's theorem for thick subcategories

Abstract

We characterize those finite groups for which the bounded derived category of finite dimensional representations over an algebraically closed field of characteristic $p$ has distributive lattice of thick subcategories: they are precisely the $p$-nilpotent groups. Along the way we give necessary and sufficient criteria for the bounded derived category and perfect complexes of a finite dimensional $k$-algebra to have distributive lattices of thick subcategories.