Finitely generated invariants of Hopf algebras on free associative algebras. (Q865449)

Let \(k\) be any field and let \(H\) be a Hopf algebra. Recall that a nonzero element \(\sigma\in H\) is a group-like element if \(\Delta(\sigma)=\sigma\otimes\sigma\). If \(\delta\in H\) satisfies the condition \(\Delta(\delta)=\delta\otimes\sigma+\tau\otimes\delta\) for some group-like \(\sigma,\tau\in H\), then \(\delta\) is called skew-primitive. In the paper under review, the authors study the algebra of invariants of a free associative algebra \(k\langle x_1,\dots,x_r\rangle\) of finite rank under a linear action of a finite-dimensional Hopf algebra \(H\) generated by group-like and skew-primitive elements. The main result is that \(k\langle x_1,\dots,x_r\rangle^H\) is a finitely generated algebra exactly when the action is scalar. This generalizes the case of the action of a finite linear group \(G\) when a result obtained independently by Dicks and Formanek, and Kharchenko states that the algebra of invariants \(k\langle x_1,\dots,x_r\rangle^G\) is finitely generated if and only if \(G\) is cyclic and acts on the ground vector space with basis \(x_1,\dots,x_r\) by scalar multiplication. A version of the latter result is obtained by Koryukin in the case of any linear group \(G\).