Let F be a non-Archimedean local field. This paper studies homological properties of irreducible smooth representations restricted from GLn+1(F) to GLn(F). A main result shows that each Bernstein component of an irreducible smooth representation of GLn+1(F) restricted to GLn(F) is indecomposable. We also classify all irreducible representations which are projective when restricting from GLn+1(F) to GLn(F). A main tool of our study is a notion of left and right derivatives, extending some previous work joint with Gordan Savin. As a by-product, we also determine the branching law in the opposite direction.

In this paper, we propose a conjectural multiplicity formula for general spherical varieties. For all the cases where a multiplicity formula has been proved, including Whittaker model, Gan-Gross-Prasad model, Ginzburg-Rallis model, Galois model and Shalika model, we show that the multiplicity formula in our conjecture matches the multiplicity formula that has been proved. We also give a proof of this multiplicity formula in two new cases.

In this paper we give an explicit algorithm to construct the ordinary quiver of a finite EI category for which the endomorphism groups of all objects have orders invertible in the field k. We classify all finite EI categories with hereditary category algebras, characterizing them as free EI categories (in a sense which we define) for which all endomorphism groups of objects have invertible orders. Some applications on the representation types of finite EI categories are derived.

Let A be a graded algebra. In this paper we develop a generalized Koszul theory by assuming that A_0 is self-injective instead of semisimple and generalize many classical results. The application of this generalized theory to directed categories and finite EI categories is described.

We construct two non-semisimple braided ribbon tensor categories of modules for each singlet vertex operator algebra M(p), p≥2. The first category consists of all finite-length M(p)-modules with atypical composition factors, while the second is the subcategory of modules that induce to local modules for the triplet vertex operator algebra W(p). We show that every irreducible module has a projective cover in the second of these categories, although not in the first, and we compute all fusion products involving atypical irreducible modules and their projective covers.