On semisimplification of tensor categories

Abstract

We develop the theory of semisimplifications of tensor categories defined by Barrett and Westbury. In particular, we compute the semisimplification of the category of representations of a finite group in characteristic $p$ in terms of representations of the normnalizer of its Sylow $p$-subgroup. This allows us to compute the semisimplification of the representation category of the symmetric group $S_{n+p}$ in characteristic $p$, where $0\le n\le p-1$, and of the Deligne category $\underline{\rm Rep}^{\rm ab}S_t$, where $t\in \Bbb N$. We also compute the semisimplification of the category of representations of the Kac-De Concini quantum group of the Borel subalgebra of $\mathfrak{sl}_2$. We also study tensor functors between Verlinde categories of semisimple algebraic groups arising from the semisimplification construction, and objects of finite type in categories of modular representations of finite groups (i.e., objects generating a fusion category in the semisimplification). Finally, we determine the semisimplifications of the tilting categories of $GL(n)$, $SL(n)$ and $PGL(n)$ in characteristic $2$. In the appendix, we classify categorifications of the Grothendieck ring of representations of $SO(3)$ and its truncations.