Hopf down-up algebras. (Q1810551)

Let \(k\) be a field and let \(A=A(\alpha,\beta,\gamma)\) be a down-up \(k\)-algebra with parameters \(\alpha\), \(\beta\) and \(\gamma\). It is known that \(A\) is Noetherian if and only if \(\beta\neq 0\). Furthermore, one can take \(\gamma\) to be either \(0\) or \(1\). The goal of this paper is to determine which of these algebras admit a Hopf algebra structure. Specifically, it is shown that if \(A(\alpha,\beta,\gamma)\) is a Noetherian Hopf algebra, then \(\alpha+\beta=1\). Furthermore, if \(\gamma=0\), then \((\alpha,\beta)=(2,-1)\) so that \(A\cong U(h)\), the universal enveloping algebra of the \(3\)-dimensional Heisenberg Lie algebra, and if \(\gamma=1\), then \(-\beta\) is not an \(n\)-th root of unity for any \(n\geq 3\). One interesting result, proved along the way, is that if \(R\) is a \(k\)-algebra having both an idempotent ideal of codimension \(1\) and a non-idempotent ideal of codimension \(1\), then \(R\) is not a Hopf algebra.