Lakshay Modi | Searcharxiv

arXiv2026

Composition of bispans of $G$-sets and plethysm

Let $P(G)$ be the Grothendieck ring of the semiring of endomorphisms of the point in the $1$-category of bispans of finite $G$-sets for a finite group $G$. This is the bispan analogue of the Burnside ring of $G$. The ring $P(G)$ admits a third operation from composition of bispans. We produce a character map for $P(G)$ landing in a plethory built out of polynomial rings and the poset of conjugacy classes of subgroups of $G$. We prove that the character map sends composition of bispans to the plethysm operation -- which is a generalization of composition of polynomials.

math.AT↗

arXiv2024

On the image of the total power operation for Burnside rings

We prove that the image of the total power operation for Burnside rings $A(G) \to A(G\wr\Sigma_n)$ lies inside a relatively small, combinatorial subring $\mathring A(G,n) \subseteq A(G \wr \Sigma_n)$. As $n$ varies, the subrings $\mathring A(G,n)$ assemble into a commutative graded ring $\mathring A(G)$ with a universal property: $\mathring A(G)$ carries the universal family of power operations out of $A(G)$. We construct character maps for $\mathring A(G,n)$ and give a formula for the character of the total power operation. Using $\mathring A(G)$, we extend the Frobenius--Wielandt homomorphism of Dress--Siebeneicher--Yoshida to wreath products compatibly with the total power operation. Finally, we prove a generalization of Burnside's orbit counting lemma that describes the transfer map $A(G \wr \Sigma_n) \to A(\Sigma_n)$ on the subring $\mathring A(G,n)$.

math.RA↗