Published online by Cambridge University Press: 20 November 2018
Division algebras occurring in simple components of group algebras of finite groups over algebraic number fields are studied. First, well-known restrictions are presented for the structure of a group that arises once no further Clifford Theory reductions are possible. For groups with these properties, a character-theoretic condition is given that forces the p-part of the division algebra part of this simple component to be generated by a predetermined p-quasi-elementary subgroup of the group, for any prime integer p. This is effectively a constructive Brauer-Witt Theorem for groups satisfying this condition. It is then shown that it is possible to constructively compute the Schur index of a simple component of the group algebra of a finite nilpotent-by-abelian group using the above reduction and an algorithm for computing Schur indices of simple algebras generated by finite metabelian groups.