Skew category, Galois covering and smash product of a $k$-category

Abstract

In this paper we consider categories over a commutative ring provided either with a free action or with a grading of a not necessarily finite group. We define the smash product category and the skew category and we show that these constructions agree with the usual ones for algebras. In case of the smash product for an infinite group our construction specialized for a ring agrees with M. Beattie's construction of a ring with local units in \cite{be}. We recover in a categorical generalized setting the Duality Theorems of M. Cohen and S. Montgomery in \cite{cm}, and we provide a unification with the results on coverings of quivers and relations by E. Green in \cite{g}. We obtain a confirmation in a quiver and relations free categorical setting that both constructions are mutual inverses, namely the quotient of a free action category and the smash product of a graded category. Finally we describe functorial relations between the representation theories of a category and of a Galois cover of it.