Categorical aspects of generating functions. I: Exponential formulas and Krull-Schmidt categories (Q5938599)

The authors want to develop a theory of generating functions (of polynomial power series type) from the categorical point of view. In this part I, they study formal power series with exponents in a category. For example, the generating function of a categorie \({\mathcal E}\) with finite hom sets is defined by \({\mathcal E}(t)= \sum t^X/ |\Aut (X)|\), where the summation is taken over all isomorphism classes of objects of \({\mathcal E}\). They use such power series to enumerate the number of \({\mathcal E}\)-structures along a faithful functor. This theory is closely related to the theory of species [see \textit{A. Joyal}, ``Une théorie combinatoire des séries formelles'', Adv. Math. 42, 1-82 (1981; Zbl 0491.05007)]. Because species can be identified with a faithful functor from a groupoid to the category of finite sets the authors mainly work with faithful functors with finite fibers. These functors induce a linear map between categories of generating functions. So they can associate to each ordinary generating function an exponential generating function which corresponds to the generating function of species. Some applications of this theory to rather classical enumerations (Bell polynomials and numbers, Wohlfahrt formula [\textit{K. Wohlfahrt}, ``Über einen Satz von Dey und die Modulgruppe'', Arch. Math. 29, 455-457 (1977; Zbl 0374.20049)], cyclic sets, labeled trees, self-dual codes) are given.