A partial Burnside ring of \(\text{GL}(n,q)\) relative to line stabilizers (Q2368806)

Let \(\mathbb{F}\) be a finite field of order \(q\) and let \(G = \text{GL}(n,q)\). Let \(\mathcal{F}\) be the set of subgroups of \(G\) comprising the intersections of the stabilizers \(\{ g \in G \mid g(L) = L\}\) where \(L\) ranges over the one-dimensional subspaces of \({\mathbb{F}}^n\). Then the partial Burnside ring \(\Omega(G,\mathcal{F})\) is the subring of the Burnside ring \(\Omega(G)\) generated by the isomorphism classes of \(G\)-sets \([G/H]\) with \( H \in \mathcal{F}\). This note gives a basis for the partial Burnside ring, and an explicit method of computing the product of two basis elements. Let \(V_1,\ldots,V_k\) be nonzero subspaces of \({\mathbb{F}}^n\) such that the sum \(V_1 + \cdots + V_k\) is direct, and let \(\Lambda(V_1,\ldots,V_k)\) be the subgroup of \(G\) whose elements act as scalars on each \(V_i\). Then \(\Lambda(V_1,\ldots,V_k)\) is a typical member of \(\mathcal{F}\). Let \(m_i = \dim(V_i)\) and let \([m_1,\ldots,m_k]\) correspond to \([G/\Lambda(V_1,\ldots,V_k)]\) in \(\Omega(G,\mathcal{F})\). It is shown that the set of such symbols is the desired basis of \(\Omega(G,\mathcal{F})\). The proof depends on an analysis of the category \(\mathcal{B}\) of families of vector spaces over an arbitrary field that is of independent interest. Notions of independence and total dependence lead to morphisms in \(\mathcal{B}\), then to the fact that coproducts are semi-representable in a subcategory \(\mathcal{D}_+\) whose objects are families of nonzero spaces. Thus \(\mathcal{D}_+\) has enough structure to define the Burnside ring \(\Omega( \mathcal{D}_+)\), which is shown to be the polynomial ring on symbols \([m]\), \( m > 0\). The corresponding results for \(\Omega(G,\mathcal{F})\) are deduced using a natural ring homomorphism \(\Omega({\mathcal{D}}_+) \to \Omega(G,\mathcal{F})\).