Derivations of quandles

Abstract

The aim of this paper is to propose a theory of derivations for quandles. Given a quandle $A$ admitting an action by a quandle $Q$, derivations from $Q$ to $A$ are introduced as twisted analogues of quandle homomorphisms. It is shown that for each quandle $Q$ there exists a unique $Q$-quandle $\mathcal{A}_Q$ (the derived quandle of $Q$) such that derivations from $Q$ to any $Q$-quandle $A$ are in bijective correspondence with $Q$-quandle homomorphisms from $\mathcal{A}_Q$ to $A$. Further, it is proved that the set of all derivations to an abelian $Q$-quandle $A$ has the structure of an abelian quandle, and inherits many other properties from $A$. In the end, the ideas are extended to the setting of virtual quandles.