The semi-linear representation theory of the infinite symmetric group

Abstract

We study the category $\mathcal{A}$ of smooth semilinear representations of the infinite symmetric group over the field of rational functions in infinitely many variables. We establish a number of results about the structure of $\mathcal{A}$, e.g., classification of injective objects, finiteness of injective dimension, computation of the Grothendieck group, and so on. We also prove that $\mathcal{A}$ is (essentially) equivalent to a simpler linear algebraic category $\mathcal{B}$, which makes many properties of $\mathcal{A}$ transparent.