nLab
Hopf action

In a strict symmetric monoidal category C with symmetry τ, a map :BAA, where (B,Δ B) is a comonoid and (A,μ A) a monoid, is a measuring if

Bμ A=μ A()(BτA)(Δ BAA):BAAAB\triangleright \mu_A = \mu_A\circ(\triangleright \otimes \triangleright)\circ (B\otimes \tau\otimes A)\circ (\Delta_B\otimes A\otimes A) : B\otimes A\otimes A\to A

where we wrote B=id B etc. If B is in fact a bimonoid and if the measuring :BAA is an action, then is said to be a Hopf action. In the k-linear case, a k-algebra (A,μ A) equipped with a Hopf action is called also a left B-module algebra; it is the same as a monoid (=algebra) in the monoidal category of left B-modules, where the monoidal structure is induced by the coaction Δ B. It is straightforward to modify the condition above to the case of non-strict symmetric monoidal categories. A dual concept is a Hopf coaction or equivalently, a notion of a B-comodule algebra.