On the category of Hopf braces

Abstract: Hopf braces are the quantum analogues of skew braces and, as such, their cocommutative counterparts provide solutions to the quantum Yang-Baxter equation. We investigate various properties of categories related to Hopf braces. In particular, we prove that the category of Hopf braces is accessible while the category of cocommutative Hopf braces is even locally presentable. We also show that functors forgetting multiple antipodes and/or multiplications down to coalgebras are monadic. Colimits in the category of cocommutative Hopf braces are described explicitly and a free cocommutative Hopf brace on an arbitrary cocommutative Hopf algebra is constructed.