On combinatorial formulas for the characters of Hecke algebras

Hecke algebras are beautiful q-extensions of Coxeter groups. In this paper, we prove several results on their characters, with an emphasis on characters induced from trivial and sign representations of parabolic subalgebras. While most of the results in type A are known, our proofs are of a combinatorial nature, and generalize to (partial) results in types B and C. We also present complete descriptions of such characters for type I.