Tensor products of Drinfeld modules and \(v\)-adic representations (Q1313513)

Let \({\mathbf A} = \mathbb{F}_ q [T]\). An \({\mathbf A}\)-field is a field \(L\) equipped with a homomorphism \(\iota:{\mathbf A} \to L\). Let \(\tau\) be the \(q\)-th power morphism and \(L\{\tau\}\) the composition ring of ``polynomials'' in \(\tau\); so \(L\{\tau\}\) is the ring of algebraic \(\mathbb{F}_ q\)-linear endomorphisms of \(L\). A Drinfeld \({\mathbf A}\)-module \(\varphi\) is an \(\mathbb{F}_ q\)-algebra mapping \({\mathbf A} \to L \{\tau\}\) such that \[ \varphi_ T = \iota (T) \tau^ 0 + \alpha_ a \tau + \cdots + \alpha_ d \tau^ d, \] where \(\alpha_ d \neq 0\). The number \(d\) is the rank of the Drinfeld module. Following Drinfeld we make \(L\{\tau\}\) into an \(L[T] = L \otimes_{\mathbb{F}_ q} {\mathbf A}\) module by having \(L\) act on the left via scalar multiplication and having \({\mathbf A}\) act on the right via \(\varphi\). Following \textit{G. W. Anderson} [\(t\)-motives, Duke Math. J. 53, 457-502 (1986; Zbl 0679.14001)] we make \(L\{\tau\}\) into a module over the ring of operators \(L[T, \tau]\) be having \(\tau\) act on the left, i.e., if \(m \in L \{\tau\}\) then \(\tau \cdot m: = m^ q\). The advantage of this \(L \{\tau\}\) formalism is that it (1) connects the theory of Drinfeld modules up with projective modules (and thus certain vector bundles or ``shtuka''), and (2) it allows one to introduce a tensor product into the theory. Thus we are able to embed the category of Drinfeld modules into a bigger category of ``\(t\)-motives'' modeled on the classical ideas of A. Grothendieck. The paper being reviewed gives an elementary approach to tensor products of Drinfeld modules. It is shown that the tensor product commutes with the formation of Tate modules. Finally the tensor product \(\varphi\otimes\varphi\) is decomposed into \(\text{Sym}^ 2 (\varphi) \times \wedge^ 2 (\varphi)\) in a manner commuting with the formation Tate modules.