Connectedness of the Tannakian group attached to semi-stable multiple filtrations (Q396499)

For an arbitrary field \(K\) and a separable algebraic closure \(L\) of \(K\), the author considers the category \(\mathcal{C}(K,L,\mathfrak{M})\) of finite dimensional vector spaces \(V\) over \(K\) such that \(L\otimes_K V\) is equipped with a family of filtrations \(F_{\!\nu}V\) (\(\nu\in \mathfrak{M}\)), and such that almost all filtrations are trivial (i.e.~\(F_{\!\nu}^{\,i}V=L\otimes_K V\) for \(i\geq 0\) and \(=0\) for \(i<0\)). It is a well known fact that this category is a neutral Tannakian category over \(K\) with fibre functor given by the forgetful functor (denoted by \(\omega(K,L,\mathfrak{M})\)). A theorem, finally proven by \textit{G. Faltings} [in: Proceedings of the international congress of mathematicians, ICM '94, August 3-11, 1994, Zürich, Switzerland. Vol. I. Basel: Birkhäuser. 648--655 (1995; Zbl 0871.14010)] states that the subcategory \(\mathcal{C}_0^{\text{ss}}(K,L,\mathfrak{M})\) of semi-stable objects of slope zero is a Tannakian subcategory of \(\mathcal{C}(K,L,\mathfrak{M})\). Hence, by the general theory on Tannakian categories, \(\text{Aut}(\omega_0^{\text{ss}}(K,L,\mathfrak{M}))\) is an affine group scheme and the category \(\mathcal{C}_0^{\text{ss}}(K,L,\mathfrak{M})\) is equivalent to the category of finite dimensional representations of \(\text{Aut}(\omega_0^{\text{ss}}(K,L,\mathfrak{M}))\). The main goal of the paper under review is to show that the group scheme \(\text{Aut}(\omega_0^{\text{ss}}(K,L,\mathfrak{M}))\) is connected (Corollary 1.3), or, even more, that every finite quotient of \(\mathcal{C}_0^{\text{ss}}(K,L,\mathfrak{M})\) is trivial (Theorem 1.2). The key ingredients for the proof are the consideration of the numbers \(m_{\nu}(V):=\min\{ i\in \mathbb{R} \mid \text{gr}^i(F_{\nu} V)\neq 0 \}\), and their behaviour under taking quotients, direct sums and tensor product, as well as the fact that every representation of a finite group scheme \(G\) is a quotient of a finite direct sum of copies of \(K[G]^*\). In the final section, the author also gives some results on further restrictions on affine algebraic groups to occur as quotients of \(\text{Aut}(\omega_0^{\text{ss}}(K,L,\mathfrak{M}))\).