The structure of Frobenius algebras and separable algebras (Q1577320)

The aim of this article is to present a unified approach to the study of Frobenius and separable algebras. This is achieved by relating both types of algebras to a nonlinear equation called the FS-equation. Given a solution \(R\) of the FS-equation the authors construct an algebra \(A(R)\) which is either a Frobenius or a separable algebra (depending upon the normalisation of \(R\)). \(A(R)\) is described by generators and relations. Conversely, the authors show that any finite dimensional Frobenius or separable algebra is isomorphic to such an \(A(R)\). The authors also show that any solution of the FS-equation satisfies the braid relation, and give a new characterisation of Frobenius extensions in terms of corings by showing that an extension of algebras \(A/B\) is Frobenius if and only if \(A\) is a \(B\)-coring with an \(A\)-bilinear comultiplication. This generalises a description of Frobenius algebras in terms of coalgebras.