Based on the work of Ringel and Green, one can define the (Drinfeld) double Ringel--Hall algebra ${\mathscr D}(Q)$ of a quiver $Q$ as well as its highest weight modules. The main purpose of the present paper is to show that the basic representation $L(\Lambda_0)$ of ${\mathscr D}(\Delta_n)$ of the cyclic quiver $\Delta_n$ provides a realization of the $q$-deformed Fock space $\bigwedge^\infty$ defined by Hayashi. This is worked out by extending a construction of Varagnolo and Vasserot. By analysing the structure of nilpotent representations of $\Delta_n$, we obtain a decomposition of the basic representation $L(\Lambda_0)$ which induces the Kashiwara--Miwa--Stern decomposition of $\bigwedge^\infty$ and a construction of the canonical basis of $\bigwedge^\infty$ defined by Leclerc and Thibon in terms of certain monomial basis elements in ${\mathscr D}(\Delta_n)$.

We show that if X is a cocompact G-CW-complex such that each isotropy subgroup Gσ is L(2)-good over an arbitrary commutative ring k, then X satisfies some fixed-point formula which is an L(2)-analogue of Brown’s formula in 1982. Using this result we present a fixed point formula for a cocompact proper G-CW-complex which relates the equivariant L(2)-Euler characteristic of a fixed point CW-complex Xs and the Euler characteristic of X/G. As corollaries, we prove Atiyah’s theorem in 1976, Akita’s formula in 1999 and a result of Chatterji-Mislin in 2009. We also show that if X is a free G-CW-complex such that C∗(X) is chain homotopy equivalent to a chain complex of finitely generated projective Zπ1(X)-modules of finite length and X satisfies some fixed-point formula over Q or C which is an L(2)-analogue of Brown’s formula, then χ(X/G)=χ(2)(X). As an application, we prove that the weak Bass conjecture holds for any finitely presented group G satisfying the following condition: for any finitely dominated CW-complex Y with π1(Y )=G, Y satisfies some fixed-point formula over Q or C which is an L(2)-analogue of Brown’s formula.

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.

In this paper, we prove that every invertible 2-local or local automorphism of a simple generalized Witt algebra over any field of characteristic 0 is an automorphism. Furthermore, every 2-local or local automorphism of Witt algebras W_n is an automorphism for all n∈N. But some simple generalized Witt algebras indeed have 2-local (and local) automorphisms that are not automorphisms.

Let $\Lambda$ be a finite dimensional algebra and $G$ be a finite group whose elements act on $\Lambda$ as algebra automorphisms. Under the assumption that $\Lambda$ has a complete set $E$ of primitive orthogonal idempotents, closed under the action of a Sylow $p$-subgroup $S \leqslant G$, we show that the skew group algebra $\Lambda G$ and $\Lambda$ have the same finitistic dimension and the same strong global dimension if the action of $S$ on $E$ is free. Using a homological characterization of piecewise hereditary algebras proved by Happel and Zacharia, we deduce that $\Lambda G$ is piecewise hereditary if and only if $S$ acts freely on $E$ and $\Lambda$ is piecewise hereditary as well.