Some quasitensor autoequivalences of Drinfeld doubles of finite groups

We report on two classes of autoequivalences of the category of Yetter-Drinfeld modules over a finite group, or, equivalently the Drinfeld center of the category of representations of a finite group. Both operations are related to the $r$-th power operation, with $r$ relatively prime to the exponent of the group. One is defined more generally for the group-theoretical fusion category defined by a finite group and an arbitrary subgroup, while the other seems particular to the case of Yetter-Drinfeld modules. Both autoequivalences preserve higher Frobenius-Schur indicators up to Galois conjugation, and they preserve tensor products, although neither of them can in general be endowed with the structure of a monoidal functor.Comment: 18 page

Computing Higher Frobenius-Schur Indicators in Fusion Categories Constructed from Inclusions of Finite Groups

We consider a subclass of the class of group-theoretical fusion categories: To every finite group $G$ and subgroup $H$ one can associate the category of $G$-graded vector spaces with a two-sided $H$-action compatible with the grading. We derive a formula that computes higher Frobenius-Schur indicators for the objects in such a category using the combinatorics and representation theory of the groups involved in their construction. We calculate some explicit examples for inclusions of symmetric groups.Comment: 29 page

A Higher Frobenius-Schur Indicator Formula for Group-Theoretical Fusion Categories

Group-theoretical fusion categories are defined by data concerning finite groups and their cohomology: A finite group $G$ endowed with a three-cocycle $\omega$, and a subgroup $H\subset G$ endowed with a two-cochain whose coboundary is the restriction of $\omega$. The objects of the category are $G$-graded vector spaces with suitably twisted $H$-actions; the associativity of tensor products is controlled by $\omega$. Simple objects are parametrized in terms of projective representations of finite groups, namely of the stabilizers in $H$ of right $H$-cosets in $G$, with respect to two-cocycles defined by the initial data. We derive and study general formulas that express the higher Frobenius-Schur indicators of simple objects in a group-theoretical fusion category in terms of the group-theoretical and cohomological data defining the category and describing its simples.Comment: 21 page

On the Frobenius-Schur indicators for quasi-Hopf algebras

Mason and Ng have given a generalization to semisimple quasi-Hopf algebras of Linchenko and Montgomery's generalization to semisimple Hopf algebras of the classical Frobenius-Schur theorem for group representations. We give a simplified proof, in particular a somewhat conceptual derivation of the appropriate form of the Frobenius-Schur indicator that indicates if and in which of two possible fashions a given simple module is self-dual.Comment: 7 page

Frobenius-Schur indicators for some fusion categories associated to symmetric and alternating groups

We calculate Frobenius-Schur indicator values for some fusion categories obtained from inclusions of finite groups $H\subset G$, where more concretely $G$ is symmetric or alternating, and $H$ is a symmetric, alternating or cyclic group. Our work is strongly related to earlier results by Kashina-Mason-Montgomery, Jedwab-Montgomery, and Timmer for bismash product Hopf algebras obtained from exact factorizations of groups. We can generalize some of their results, settle some open questions and offer shorter proofs; this already pertains to the Hopf algebra case, while our results also cover fusion categories not associated to Hopf algebras.Comment: 15 page