arXiv2023
A symmetric tensor category $\mathcal D$ over an algebraically closed field $k$ is incompressible if every tensor functor out of $\mathcal D$ is an embedding. E.g., the categories $Vec$ and $sVec$ of (super)vector spaces are incompressible. Moreover, by Deligne's theorem, if char$(k)=0$ then any tensor category of moderate growth uniquely fibres over $sVec$, so $Vec$ and $sVec$ are the only incompressible categories in this class. Similarly, in characteristic $p>0$, we have the incompressible Verlinde category $Ver_p$, and any Frobenius exact category of moderate growth uniquely fibres over $Ver_p$. More generally, the Verlinde categories $Ver_{p^n}$, $Ver_{p^n}^+$ are incompressible, and a key conjecture is that every tensor category of moderate growth uniquely fibres over $Ver_{p^\infty}$. This would make the above the only incompressible categories in this class. We prove a part of this conjecture, showing that every tensor category of moderate growth fibres over an incompressible one. So it remains to understand incompressible categories. We say that $\mathcal D$ is subterminal if it every tensor category admits at most one fibre functor to it, and a Bezrukavnikov category if the class of tensor categories that fibre over $\mathcal D$ is closed under quotients. Clearly, a subterminal Bezrukavnikov category is incompressible, and we conjecture the converse. We prove that $Ver_p$ is Bezrukavnikov, generalizing the result of Bezrukavnikov for $Vec$. We also find intrinsic sufficient conditions for incompressibility and subterminality. Namely, $\mathcal D$ is maximally nilpotent if the growth rates of symmetric powers are minimal. We show that a finite maximally nilpotent category is incompressible, and also subterminal if it satisfies an additional geometric reductivity condition. Then we verify these conditions for $Ver_{2^n}$.