Paper detail

The motive of a classifying space

We give the first examples of finite groups G such that the Chow ring of the classifying space BG depends on the base field, even for fields containing the algebraic closure of Q. As a tool, we give several characterizations of the varieties which satisfy Kunneth properties for Chow groups or motivic homology. We define the (compactly supported) motive of a quotient stack in Voevodsky's derived category of motives. This makes it possible to ask when the motive of BG is mixed Tate, which is equivalent to the motivic Kunneth property. We prove that BG is mixed Tate for various "well-behaved" finite groups G, such as the finite general linear groups in cross-characteristic and the symmetric groups.