Stated skein algebras of surfaces (Q2098193)

The Kauffman Bracket Skein Module \(\mathring{\mathscr{S}}(M)\) of a 3-manifold \(M\), first introduced independently by Przytycki and Turaev, is the \(\mathscr{R}\)-module generated by unoriented framed links in \(M\) modulo ambient isotopy and the Kauffman relations. These skein modules have been extensively studied in Low Dimensional Topology and Quantum Topology. When \(M=\mathfrak{S}\times (0, 1)\) is a thickened surface, \(\mathring{\mathscr{S}}(\mathfrak{S}\times (0, 1))\) becomes an algebra naturally. The second author introduced in [\textit{T. T. Q. Lê}, Quantum Topol. 9, No. 3, 591--632 (2018; Zbl 1427.57011)] the stated skein algebra \(\mathscr{S}(\mathfrak{S})\) of a punctured surface \(\mathfrak{S}\). It is the \(\mathscr{R}\)-module generated by isotopy classes of stated framed tangles properly embedded in \(\mathfrak{S}\times (0, 1)\), modulo the Kauffman relations plus 4 more relations involving tangle boundary. Tangles with \(\pm\) sign at each boundary point are called stated. Then the original skein algebra \(\mathring{\mathscr{S}}(\mathfrak{S})\) is naturally embedded in the stated skein algebra \(\mathscr{S}(\mathfrak{S})\). This paper gives a `systematic study' of \(\mathscr{S}(\mathfrak{S})\). It is shown that when the surface is the bigon \(\mathscr{B}\), a disk with two punctures on its boundary, \(\mathscr{S}(\mathscr{B})\) is a dual quasitriangular Hopf algebra and is naturally isomorphic to \(\mathscr{O}_{q^2}(SL(2))\), the Hopf dual of the quantum group \(U_{q^2}(sl_2)\). Many quantum group objects, including Kashiwara's crystal basis, thus have visual representations. The authors also prove many other interesting results. For example, they show that \(\mathscr{S}(\mathscr{B})\) lifts the Reshetikhin-Turaev functor. They also show that the skein algebra of a surface with \(n\) boundary components is a comodule algebra over \(\mathscr{O}_{q^2}(SL(2))^{\otimes n}\) and prove that cutting along an ideal arc corresponds to Hochschild cohomology of bicomodules. They give a topological interpretation of braided tensor products of stated skein algebras of surfaces as ``gluing on a triangle''; then recover topologically some bialgebras in the category of \(\mathscr{O}_{q^2}(SL(2))\)-comodules. The authors also demonstrate how to recover Bonahon-Wong's quantum trace map [\textit{F. Bonahon} and \textit{H. Wong}, Geom. Topol. 15, No. 3, 1569--1615 (2011; Zbl 1227.57003)] and interpret the stated skein algebras in the classical limit when \(q\to 1\) as regular functions over a suitable version of moduli spaces of twisted bundles.