This text presents a self-contained introduction to J. Rickard's Morita theory for derived module categories and its applications in representation theory of finite groups. In particular, Brou's conjecture is discussed, giving a structural explanation for relations between the p-modular character table of a finite group and that of its "p-local structure". The book is addressed to researchers or graduate students and can serve as material for a seminar. It surveys the current state of the field, and it also provides a "user's guide" to derived equivalences and tilting complexes. Results and proofs are presented in the generality needed for group theoretic applications.

Contributions by: B. Keller, M. Linckelmann, J. Rickard, R. Rouquier