A Sequence to Compute the Brauer Group of Certain Quasi-Triangular Hopf Algebras

A deeper understanding of recent computations of the Brauer group of Hopf algebras is attained by explaining why a direct product decomposition for this group holds and describing the non-interpreted factor occurring in it. For a Hopf algebra B in a braided monoidal category ${{\mathcal C}}$, and under certain assumptions on the braiding (fulfilled if ${{\mathcal C}}$ is symmetric), we construct a sequence for the Brauer group ${{\rm{BM}}}({{\mathcal C}};B)$ of B-module algebras, generalizing Beattie’s one. It allows one to prove that ${{\rm{BM}}}({{\mathcal C}};B) \cong {{\rm{Br}}}({{\mathcal C}}) \times {\operatorname{Gal}}({{\mathcal C}};B)$, where ${{\rm{Br}}}({{\mathcal C}})$ is the Brauer group of ${{\mathcal C}}$ and ${\operatorname{Gal}}({{\mathcal C}};B)$ the group of B-Galois objects. We also show that ${{\rm{BM}}}({{\mathcal C}};B)$ contains a subgroup isomorphic to ${{\rm{Br}}}({{\mathcal C}}) \times {\operatorname{H^2}}({{\mathcal C}};B,I),$ where ${\operatorname{H^2}}({{\mathcal C}};B,I)$ is the second Sweedler cohomology group of B with values in the unit object I of ${{\mathcal C}}$. These results are applied to the Brauer group ${{\rm{BM}}}(K,B \times H,{{\mathcal R}})$ of a quasi-triangular Hopf algebra that is a Radford biproduct B × H, where H is a usual Hopf algebra over a field K, the Hopf subalgebra generated by the quasi-triangular structure ${{\mathcal R}}$ is contained in H and B is a Hopf algebra in the category ${}_H{{\mathcal M}}$ of left H-modules. The Hopf algebras whose Brauer group was recently computed fit this framework. We finally show that ${{\rm{BM}}}(K,H,{{\mathcal R}}) \times {\operatorname{H^2}}({}_H{{\mathcal M}};B,K)$ is a subgroup of ${{\rm{BM}}}(K,B \times H,{{\mathcal R}})$, confirming the suspicion that a certain cohomology group of B × H (second lazy cohomology group was conjectured) embeds into it. New examples of Brauer groups of quasi-triangular Hopf algebras are computed using this sequence.