\(H\)-algebras (Q1181239)

A commutative Hopf algebra \(H\) gives a representable functor \(A \mapsto \text{Alg}(H,A)\) from commutative algebras to groups, where \(\text{Alg}(H,A)\) has the convolution product involving the comultiplication \(A\) of \(H\) to \(H \otimes H\), the coproduct of \(H\) with itself in the category of commutative algebras. The author tries to extend this to the category of noncommutative algebras, or more generally to any category with coproducts and an initial object. (This does not include noncommutative Hopf algebras, since the comultiplication would not map into the coproduct.) Thus an \(H\)-algebra is an object \(H\) in such a category which imitates the definition of a Hopf algebra, with the comultiplication on \(H\) going to the coproduct of \(H\) with itself. The author studies which such \(H\) would determine a functor \(A \to \text{Alg}(H,A)\) from \(k\)-algebras to groups. His answer involves the construction of an \(H\)-algebra \(H_ C\) from any coalgebra \(C\) with a distinguished group-like element. The \(\text{Alg}(H_ C,A)\) turns out to be isomorphic to the group of units of \(\text{Hom}(C,A)\) under convolution. Although \(H\)-algebras and noncommutative Hopf algebras seem unrelated, it is possible to give a bialgebra structure to an \(H\)- algebra, and the author discusses when this is also a Hopf algebra structure. The author's general ideas have also been considered by G. Bergman and A. Hausknecht.