Stacky abelianization of algebraic groups (Q848892)

Let \(G\) be a connected reduced group scheme of finite type over a perfect field \(k\). When \(k\) is finite, one of the aims of geometric character theory is to obtain the irreducible characters of \(G(k)\) from sheaves on \(G\), via taking the trace of Frobenius on stalks. From this point of view, the commutator subgroup \([G,G]\) of \(G\) is not the ``right'' algebro-geometric analog of the abstract commutator group \([G(k),G(k)]\): for example, every one-dimensional character on \(G(k)\) is trivial on \([G(k),G(k)]\), but there exist examples of one-dimensional character sheaves on \(G\) whose restriction to \([G,G]\) is nontrivial. To remedy for this defect, the paper under review introduces a new version of the commutator subgroup, called the \textit{true commutator \([G,G]^{\mathrm{true}}\).} It is a central extension \(1 \to A^{\mathrm{et}} \to [G,G]^{\mathrm{true}} \to [G,G] \to 1\), where \(A^{\mathrm{et}}\) is a certain canonically defined finite étale group scheme. When \(k\) is algebraically closed, \([G,G]^{\mathrm{true}}\) is characterized by the properties (1) \([G,G]^{\mathrm{true}}\) is a connected étale central extension of \([G,G]\); (2) the pullback of every étale central extension of \(G\) to \([G,G]^{\mathrm{true}}\) is trivial; and (3) the commutator map \(G \times G \to [G,G]\), \((g,h) \mapsto g^{-1}h^{-1}gh\) admits a lift to \([G,G]^{\mathrm{true}}\). The \textit{stacky abelianization \(G^{\text{ab,st}}\)} of \(G\) is defined to be the stack quotient of \(G\) by \([G,G]^{\text{true}}\). It is a strictly commutative Deligne--Mumford Picard stack. When \(k\) is algebraically closed, \(G^{\mathrm{ab,st}}\) is characterized as being initial among all strictly commutative Picard stacks equipped with a homomorphism from \(G\).