Power maps in algebra and topology

Abstract

Given any twisting cochain t:C -->A, where C is a connected, coaugmented chain coalgebra and A is an augmented chain algebra over an arbitrary PID R, we construct a twisted extension of chain complexes A --> H(t) --> C. We show that both the well-known Hochschild complex of an associative algebra and the coHochschild complex of a coassociative coalgebra are special cases of H(t), which we therefore call the Hochschild complex of t. We explore the extent of the naturality of the Hochschild complex construction and apply the results of this exploration to determining conditions under which H(t) admits multiplicative or comultiplicative structure. In particular, we show that the Hochschild complex on a chain Hopf algebra always admits a natural comultiplication. Furthermore, when A is a chain Hopf algebra, we determine conditions under which H(t) admits an rth-power map extending the usual rth-power map on A and lifting the identity on C. As special cases, we obtain that both the Hochschild complex of any cocommutative Hopf algebra and the coHochschild complex of the normalized chain complex of a double suspension admit power maps. We show moreover that if K is a double suspension, then the power map on the coHochschild complex of the normalized chain complex of K is a model of the topological power map on the space of free loops on the realization of K, illustrating the topological relevance of our algebraic construction.