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.

We develop a local cohomology theory for FI^m-modules, and show that it in many ways mimics the classical theory for multi-graded modules over a polynomial ring. In particular, we define an invariant of FI^m-modules using this local cohomology theory which closely resembles an invariant of multi-graded modules over Cox rings defined by Maclagan and Smith. It is then shown that this invariant behaves almost identically to the invariant of Maclagan and Smith.

The notion of central stability was first formulated for sequences of representations of the symmetric groups by Putman. A categorical reformulation was subsequently given by Church, Ellenberg, Farb, and Nagpal using the notion of FI-modules, where FI is the category of finite sets and injective maps. We extend the notion of central stability from FI to a wide class of categories, and prove that a module is presented in finite degrees if and only if it is centrally stable. We also introduce the notion of d-step central stability, and prove that if the ideal of relations of a category is generated in degrees at most d, then every module presented in finite degrees is d-step centrally stable.

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In this paper we describe an inductive machinery to investigate asymptotic behaviors of homology groups and related invariants of representations of certain graded combinatorial categories over a commutative Noetherian ring k, via introducing inductive functors which generalize important properties of shift functors of FI-modules. In particular, a sufficient criterion for finiteness of Castelnuovo-Mumford regularity of finitely generated representations of these categories is obtained. As applications, we show that a few important infinite combinatorial categories appearing in representation stability theory are equipped with inductive functors, and hence the finiteness of Castelnuovo-Mumford regularity of their finitely generated representations is guaranteed. We also prove that truncated representations of these categories have linear minimal resolutions by relative projective modules, which are precisely linear minimal projective resolutions when k is a field of characteristic 0.