For a coalgebra and a unital associative algebra over a commutative ring , maps have convolution , with unit . The two-sided convolution inverse of is the antipode.
The full carries the action , making it the internal hom right adjoint to . No finite-dimensionality or inverse antipode is needed.
We use the left internal-hom convention in which is right adjoint to , so its evaluation morphism has domain . For a Hopf algebra over the commutative ring , take the full -module
and give it the internal hom for modules over a Hopf algebra
The antipode is an antihomomorphism, , so
The unit acts identically. Thus this is a left -module.
The evaluation morphism is -linear. Using the diagonal bialgebra action and the antipode identity,
Now let be -linear and define its ordinary curried map . To see that it too is -linear, compute
Conversely, any -linear map uncurries to an -linear map by the already established linearity of evaluation. The ordinary tensor–hom adjunction therefore restricts to a natural bijection
Postcomposition by an -linear map makes a functor. This proves that the category of left -modules is a left closed monoidal category. All modules are allowed; no inverse antipode or finite-dimensional dual is required. Stating the tensor–hom convention explicitly avoids confusing this construction with the closure on the opposite side.
A useful comodule natural transformation formula determines from a single linear functional. Define
using the regular right comodule . For any vector space , the cofree right comodule has coaction . Naturality with respect to all maps gives
The coaction is itself a morphism of right comodules. Its naturality equation, followed by , therefore gives
This derivation works for all comodules, not merely finite-dimensional ones.
The monoidal equation , evaluated on the two regular comodules and followed by their counits, implies
The unit equation gives . Thus is a unital algebra homomorphism over a field . In addition, the -colinearity of gives the useful intertwining relation
This fixes the orientation of relative to .
For the convolution product for coalgebra maps, define . Multiplicativity of and the two antipode identities show
Consequently
Coassociativity and the two convolution identities verify both composites directly. Since was a -comodule morphism, its linear inverse is also a -comodule morphism. Inverting the naturality and monoidal equations shows that the inverses form a monoidal natural transformation . Every such monoidal transformation is therefore invertible, without requiring a bijective antipode.