Trace maps for Mackey algebras (Q2255071)

The Mackey algebra \(\mu_R(G)\), where \(G\) is a finite group and \(R\) is a commutative ring, has been introduced by J.~Thévenaz and P.~Webb, and its importance stems from the fact that any Mackey functor for \(G\) over \(R\) is a module over \(\mu_R(G)\). It has some properties similar to those the group algebra \(RG\), but while the group algebra is a symmetric algebra, the Mackey algebra is not always symmetric. The author deals with this problem in a systematic manner. The main result of the paper says that the Mackey algebra \(\mu_R(G)\) is a symmetric algebra if and only if the family of Burnside algebras \((RB(H))_{H\leq G}\) is a family of symmetric algebras with a certain compatibility condition involving the inductions \(\text{Ind}_H^G\) from the subgroups \(H\) to \(G\). This is achieved by using the fact that the category of Mackey functors is a closed symmetric monoidal category, and the notion of Burnside Trace introduced by S.~Bouc, which allows to construct symmetric associative bilinear forms for \(\mu_R(G)\). Several particular cases are deduced as corollaries. Over a field \(R\) of characteristic zero, \(\mu_R(G)\) is symmetric. Over the ring of integers, the Mackey algebra is symmetric if and only if the order of \(G\) is square free. If \((K, {\mathcal O}, k)\) is a \(p\)-modular system, then the Mackey algebras \(\mu_{\mathcal O}(G)\) and \(\mu_k(G)\) are symmetric if and only if the Sylow \(p\)-subgroups of \(G\) have order \(1\) or \(p\).