Locally finite cycles of linear mappings in countable dimension (Q6046076)

Let \(n\) be a positive integer. An \(n\)-cycle of linear mappings is an \(n\)-tuple \(\left(u_1, \ldots, u_n\right)\) of linear maps \(u_1 \in \operatorname{Hom}\left(U_1, U_2\right), u_2 \in\) \(\operatorname{Hom}\left(U_2, U_3\right), \ldots, u_n \in \operatorname{Hom}\left(U_n, U_1\right)\), where \(U_1, \ldots, U_n\) are vector spaces over a field. This paper concerns the classification of such cycles, up to equivalence, when the spaces \(U_1, \ldots, U_n\) have countable dimensions and the composite \(u_n \circ u_{n-1} \circ \cdots \circ u_1\) is locally finite. When \(n=1\), this problem amounts to classifying the reduced locally nilpotent endomorphisms of a countable-dimensional vector space up to similarity, and the known solution involves the so-called Kaplansky invariants of \(u\). Here, the author extends Kaplansky's results to cycles of arbitrary length. As an application, It is proved that if \(u_n \circ \cdots \circ u_1\) is locally nilpotent and the \(U_i\) spaces have countable dimension, then there are bases \(\mathbf{B}_1, \ldots, \mathbf{B}_n\) of \(U_1, \ldots, U_n\), respectively, such that, for every \(i \in \llbracket 1, n \rrbracket, u_i\) maps every vector of \(\mathbf{B}_i\) either to a vector of \(\mathbf{B}_{i+1}\) or to the zero vector of \(U_{i+1}\) (where it is assumed that \(U_{n+1}=U_1\) and \(\left.\mathbf{B}_{n+1}=\mathbf{B}_1\right)\).