A note on Masuoka's theorem for semisimple irreducible Hopf algebras (Q2424590)

A Hopf algebra is \textit{connected} (or irreducible) if its coradical is one-dimensional; the connectedness of a finite-dimensional Hopf algebra forces the characteristic of the base field to be positive. Let $k$ be an algebraically closed field of positive characteristic $p$ and let $H$ be a finite-dimensional connected Hopf algebra over $k$. In this paper, using tools of Hochschild cohomology of coalgebras, the author presents an alternative proof of a result established by \textit{A. Masuoka} [Proc. Am. Math. Soc. 137, No. 6, 1925--1932 (2009; Zbl 1169.16025)] that says that such a Hopf algebra $H$ is semisimple if and only if the Hopf subalgebra $K$ generated by the primitive elements of $H$ is semisimple if and only if $K$ is isomorphic to the dual group algebra of an elementary abelian $p$-group if and only if $H$ is isomorphic to the dual group algebra of a $p$-group. As a consequence of the main result the author shows that, without the assumption that $k$ is algebraically closed, any semisimple connected Hopf algebra over $k$ is commutative; several equivalent conditions concerning integrals for a finite-dimensional connected Hopf algebra to be semisimple are also given. \par Masuoka's result has been applied by the author in joint work with \textit{V. C. Nguyen} and \textit{L. Wang} to complete the classification of connected Hopf algebras of dimension $p^3$ over an algebraically closed field $k$ of positive characteristic $p>2$ in the papers [J. Algebra 424, 473--505 (2015; Zbl 1312.16032); Algebr. Represent. Theory 22, No. 4, 837--865 (2019; Zbl 1478.16024)].