Split Hopf algebras, quasi-shuffle algebras, and the cohomology of \(\Omega \Sigma X\) (Q2182276)

Given a graded connected commutative finite type algebra \(A\) over a perfect field \(k\) of characteristic \(p\), one can construct its cofree Hopf algebra cogenerated by \(A\), which will be the \textit{quasi-shuffle algebra} \(J^\vee (A)\). One of the aims of this paper is to present conditions under which two such algebras \(A\) and \(B\) will give rise to quasi-shuffle algebras \(J^\vee(A)\) and \(J^\vee(B)\) that are isomorphic as Hopf algebras. When \(k\) is of characteristic \(0\), such a result comes from work by \textit{J. W. Milnor} and \textit{J. C. Moore} [Ann. Math. (2) 81, 211--264 (1965; Zbl 0163.28202)] (Theorem 1.5 here), stating that two such algebras \(A\) and \(B\) have isomorphic positive parts \(\bar A\) and \(\bar B\) (as graded \(k\)-vector spaces) if and only if \(J^\vee(A)\) and \(J^\vee(B)\) are isomorphic as Hopf algebras (and also if and only if those quasi-shuffle algebras are isomorphic as algebras). To be able to present and prove a similar result for positive-characteristic perfect fields, the author considers the category of \(F\)-modules (reduced graded \(k\)-vector spaces of finite type together with a Frobenius map); in the positive-characteristic case, any algebra \(A\) as above is naturally an \(F\)-module if one forgets the product structure and uses the \(p\)-power map as the Frobenius. The equivalence result one obtains is Theorem 1.8: given two algebras as above, with \(p > 0\), their positive parts will be isomorphic \textit{as \(F\)-modules} if and also if their quasi-shuffle algebras are isomorphic as Hopf algebras (and also if and only if those quasi-shuffle algebras are isomorphic as algebras). In order to prove Theorem 1.8, the author considers an equivalent result that uses a construction that is dual to \(J^\vee(-)\): given a cocommutative coalgebra \(C\) over \(k\), \(J(C)\) denotes the free Hopf algebra generated by \(C\). If \(p>0\), one defines a \(V\)-module as a reduced graded \(k\)-vector space of finite type together with a Verschiebung map; given a cocommutative coalgebra over \(k\), its positive part \(\bar C\) can be viewed as a \(V\)-module. The equivalence result in this context is Theorem 1.12, which is dual (and equivalent) to Theorem 1.8: for \(p>0\), two coalgebras \(C\) and \(D\) as above have positive parts that are isomorphic \textit{as \(V\)-modules} if and only \(J(C)\) and \(J(D)\) are isomorphic as Hopf algebras (and also if and only if \(J(C)\) and \(J(D)\) are isomorphic as coalgebras). The idea behind considering this dual result has to do with the extra structure that the \(J(C)\) carry naturally: they are free as algebras, and moreover the map \({\bar J(C)} \rightarrow Q(J(C))\) is split in the category of \(V\)-modules (here, \(Q(-)\) denotes the module of indecomposables). Hopf algebras that have these two additional properties are called here \textit{split free}. The main result in this paper is then Theorem 1.20, which classifies split free Hopf algebras and is used in the proof of Theorem 1.12 (and by extension also in the proof of Theorem 1.8). For topologists, the interest in this approach resides in the classic results by \textit{I. M. James} [Ann. Math. (2) 62, 170--197 (1955; Zbl 0064.41505)] stating that if \(X\) is a connected \(CW\) complex of finite type, then one gets an isomorphism \(H^* (\Omega \Sigma X; k) \rightarrow J^\vee (H^* (X;k))\). A consequence of the results in this paper is then Corollary 7.2: If two based spaces \(X\) and \(Y\) of finite type are stably homotopy equivalent then \(H^* (\Omega \Sigma X; k)\) and \(H^* (\Omega \Sigma Y; k)\) are isomorphic Hopf algebras for all fields \(k\). Other applications include Theorem 7.1, a characterization of primitive Hopf algebras, and the results in Section 7.3 on conditions for a quasi-shuffle algebra to be polynomial. The paper also devotes the entirety of Section 4 to the discussion of a cautionary example of two non-isomorphic Hopf algebras that are nonetheless isomorphic both as algebras and as coalgebras (the crux of the matter being that their modules of indecomposables are not isomorphic as \(V\)-modules).