Averaging operators on groups and Hopf algebras (Q6919121)

The averaging operator provides a useful tool in the construction of supergravity theories and higher gauge theories, which is called the embedding tensor in physics. Recently, \textit{L. Guo} et al. [Adv. Math. 387, Article ID 107834, 34 p. (2021; Zbl 1468.17026)] introduced and studied Rota-Baxter operators of weight \(\pm 1\) on groups, motivated by the classical Yang-Baxter equation and Poisson geometry. In this paper, motivated mainly by the fact that weight zero Rota-Baxter operators and averaging operators are Koszul dual to each other, one proposes the concepts of averaging group and averaging Hopf algebra and the authors study relationships among them and the existing averaging Lie algebras. The authors also show that an averaging group induces a disemigroup and a rack, respectively. As the free object is one of the most significant objects in a category, the authors also construct explicitly the free averaging group on a set.