Chevalley property of module-finite Hopf algebras and discriminant ideals

Abstract

In this paper, we study the Chevalley property of Cayley-Hamilton Hopf algebras in the sense of De Concini-Procesi-Reshetikhin-Rosso using discriminant ideals. For any affine Cayley-Hamilton Hopf algebra $(H,C,\text{tr})$ whose identity fiber algebra has the Chevalley property, we prove that an irreducible $H$-module $V$ has the property that $V\otimes W$ is a completely reducible $H$-module for every irreducible $H$-module $W$ if and only if $V$ is annihilated by the lowest discriminant ideal of $(H,C,\text{tr})$, which establishes a bridge between the tensor-nondegenerate behaviour of the irreducible representations of $H$ and the lowest discriminant ideal of $(H,C,\text{tr})$. Using discriminant ideals, we prove that an affine Cayley-Hamilton Hopf algebra $(H,C,\text{tr})$ has the Chevalley property if and only if its identity fiber algebra $H/\mathfrak{m}_{\overline{\varepsilon}}H$ has the Chevalley property and all the discriminant ideals of $(H,C,\text{tr})$ are trivial, thereby resolving a question posed by Huang-Mi-Qi-Wu. Moreover, it is shown that the lowest discriminant subvariety $\mathcal{V}_{\ell}$ of the algebraic group $\operatorname{maxSpec}C$ is a closed subgroup, which reflects the rigid nature of $\mathcal{V}_{\ell}$ and is effective in determining the lowest discriminant subvarieties in certain examples of low GK dimension. This rigidity property provides a method, via the lowest discriminant ideals, for constructing a large family of Hopf algebras with the Chevalley property and finite GK dimension. The results are illustrated through applications to the big quantized Borel subalgebras at roots of unity and to certain Artin-Schelter Gorenstein Hopf algebras of low GK dimension. In particular, the framework yields (non-finite) tensor categories with the Chevalley property arising from some big quantum groups at roots of unity.