Homology of linear groups via cycles in $BG\times X$

Let G be an algebraic group and let X be a smooth integral scheme over a field k. In this paper we construct homology-type groups $H_i(X,G)$ by considering cycles in the simplicial scheme $BG\times X (an idea suggested by Andrei Suslin). We discuss the basic properties of these groups and construct a spectral sequence, beginning with the groups $H_i({\mathrm{\Delta }}^j,G)$, which converges to the etale cohomology of the simplicial group BG. These groups are therefore connected with the study of Friedlander’s generalized isomorphism conjecture. <p> We also compute some examples, focusing in particular on the case X=Spec(k). In the case where k is the real numbers, there is a connection between the groups $H_i$ and the Z/2-equivariant cohomology of the classifying space of the discrete group $G(\mathbb{R})$.