Polynomial representations and categorifications of Fock space (Q385519)

A remarkable object at the intersection of representation theory and algebraic combinatorics is the ring of symmetric functions in infinitely many variables. Indeed, the rings of symmetric polynomials form an inverse system whose limit, the previously mentioned ring, is the model for the bosonic Fock space representation of the affine Lie algebra. The authors categorify this construction by considering an inverse limit of categories of polynomial representation of general linear groups and they show that this limit naturally carries an action of the affine Lie algebra (in the sense of Rouquier), thereby obtaining a family of categorifications of the bosonic Fock space representation. This construction of strong categorification on a limit of categories is novel and, in my opinion, very interesting in its own right. Moreover, it seems to be adaptable to other settings, such as representations of quantum groups. This can be viewed as a sort of limit of previous constructions by several authors, which allows the authors to obtain the Fock space standard representation, rather than tensor powers of the standard representation.