Twisted derivations of Hopf algebras. (Q1946187)

The category of left modules over a bialgebra \(H\) is an example of tensor category. Bialgebra morphisms induce tensor functors between the corresponding categories of modules but not all tensor functors necessarily arise this way. In a previous paper the author studied tensor functors between categories of \(H\)-modules preserving the associated forgetful functors to the category of vector spaces and introduced the related notions of twisted homomorphisms of \(H\) and their gauge trasformations. In this paper the author introduces a linearization of these notions, namely twisted derivations of \(H\) and their gauge transformations. The space of twisted derivations \(L(H)\) carries a natural Lie algebra structure which fits into a crossed module as target space. The cases of \(H\) being the universal enveloping algebra of a Lie algebra or the 4-dimensional Hopf algebra introduced by Sweedler are worked out in detail. It should be mentioned that, in the case of a finite-dimensional Hopf algebra \(H\), the Lie algebra \(L(H)\) is the tangent space to the group of braided autoequivalences of the category of \(H\)-modules. This group acts on the Brauer group \(\text{Brs}(H)\) of separable \(H\)-Azumaya algebras and when \(H\) is factorizable and quasitriangular it is isomorphic to it. The Brauer group of a Hopf algebra is usually hard to compute and there is hope that these new tools will lead to a better understanding of it.