Weak crossed biproducts and weak projections. (Q1934429)

Various products have been studied in bialgebra and Hopf algebra theory -- smash products, crossed products, crossed coproducts, crossed biproducts, etc. A categorical framework capturing these products was given by \textit{Y. Bespalov} and \textit{B. Drabant} [J. Algebra 219, No. 2, 466-505 (1999; Zbl 0933.16041), ibid. 240, No. 2, 445-504 (2001; Zbl 0977.16017)]. In the paper under review, the authors obtain a general theory of weak crossed biproducts. Weak Hopf algebras were introduced by \textit{G. Böhm, F. Nill} and \textit{K. Szlachányi} [J. Algebra 221, No. 2, 385-438 (1999; Zbl 0949.16037)]. They differ from Hopf algebras in that the counit need not be multiplicative. The authors first obtain a weak crossed biproduct on \(A\otimes C\), \(A\) an algebra and \(C\) a coalgebra in a braided monoidal category. The weak crossed product and the weak crossed coproduct are glued together by considering certain idempotent morphisms. They also study weak bialgebras with a weak projection, generalizing \textit{D. E. Radford}'s Hopf algebras with a projection [J. Algebra 92, 322-347 (1985; Zbl 0549.16003)]. Again, this takes place in a braided monoidal category in which idempotents split.