Questions tagged [semigroups-and-monoids]

A semigroup is a set $S$ together with a binary operation that is associative. Examples of semigroups are the set of finite strings over a fixed alphabet (under concatenation) and the positive integers (under addition, maximum, or minimum). A monoid is a semigroup with a neutral element. Of course, any group is also a monoid/semigroup.

Filter by
Sorted by
Tagged with
0 votes
0 answers
61 views

Which algebraic structure characterizes the set of non-trivial qudratic residues in a finite field?

I understand this question may be too naive to ask, but I am unable to figure it out. Suppose, $\mathbb{QR^*}$ denotes the set of all quadratic residues in a finite field except the identity element $...
8 votes
2 answers
458 views

Posets obtained from a semigroup by the definition $x \leq y \iff x \cdot y = x$

A po-groupoid is a groupoid $\langle A,\cdot\rangle $ such that the relation defined by $$ x \leq y \text{ if and only if } x \cdot y = x $$ is a partial order on $A$, the order related to $\langle ...
7 votes
1 answer
204 views

Quiver and relations for a monoid related to Catalan numbers

Let $C_n$ be the monoid consisting of monotone maps $\{1,...,n\} \rightarrow \{1,...,n\}$ with $f(i) \leq i$ for all $i$. The cardinality of $C_n$ is given by the Catalan numbers. Consider $A_n= \...
3 votes
3 answers
290 views

Examples of cancellative normal semigroups

I've got a couple of things to test against normality in cancellative semigroups. A normal semigroup $S$ is one in which for any $x\in S$ we have $xS=Sx.$ This implies the Ore condition $$x,y\in S\...
5 votes
0 answers
64 views

Structure of well-ordered commutative monoids

Let $(M,+)$ be a commutative monoid. Let $<$ be a well-ordering on $M$, where $\forall a\in M,\ 0\leq a$ $\forall a,b,c\in M,\ a<b\Rightarrow a+c<b+c$ The first condition means $M$ will be ...
2 votes
1 answer
166 views

Generating totally ordered free commutative monoids

Let’s say I have a set $A$. I build the free commutative monoid $M$ generated by $A$. When can a well-order on $A$ be extended to $M$, in a way that is compatible with its monoid structure? I am ...
6 votes
1 answer
171 views

A name for semigroups in which left and right principal ideals coincide

Is there any standard name for semigroups $S$ in which $xS=Sx$ for all $x\in S$? Examples of such semigroups are commutative semigroups and Clifford inverse semigroups.
2 votes
0 answers
70 views

An alternative definition for finitely generated (and principal) ideals in a semigroup

Let $S$ be a semigroup. An ideal (of $S$) is a subset $I$ of $S$ such that $SI$ and $IS$ are both contained in $I$. The non-empty ideals constitute a subsemigroup, $\mathfrak I(S)$, of the power ...
4 votes
1 answer
350 views

Values attained by the coheight of $(H \setminus H^\times)^k$ as a function of $H$ and $k$

Edit (Apr 24, 2017). I'm updating this post in the light of the latest developments of a related thread. Let $H$ be a multiplicatively written, commutative monoid, and set $M := H \setminus H^\times$,...
6 votes
0 answers
581 views

Generating functions in countable commutative monoids

Let $f: \mathbb{N}_0 \rightarrow \mathbb{C}$ be a function. The power series of $f$ can be viewed as the function $\mathscr{P}_f : q \mapsto \sum_{n \in \mathbb{N}_0}^{} f(n)q^n$ where $q \in \mathbb{...
1 vote
1 answer
347 views

Reference request: a cousin to the log semiring

Let $f$ be strictly increasing on $\mathbb{R}$. Then $x \oplus y := f^{-1}(f(x)+f(y))$ gives rise to a strict symmetric monoidal ($\Rightarrow$ commutative monoid) structure on $(\mathbb{R},\ge)$ with ...
5 votes
0 answers
151 views

$S$ and $T$ globally isomorphic semigroups, with $S$ (commutative and) cancellative, iff $S$ is isomorphic to $T$?

Denote by $\mathcal P(S)$ the semigroup obtained by equipping the non-empty subsets of a "ground semigroup" $S$ (written multiplicatively) with the operation of setwise multiplication ...
2 votes
0 answers
87 views

A recursive description of the smallest divisor-closed subsemigroup containing a set

Let $S$ be a semigroup and $\widehat{S}$ be its unitization, i.e., the monoid obtained from $S$ by adjoining an identity element if necessary (so that $\widehat{S} = S$ when $S$ is already a monoid). ...
13 votes
3 answers
969 views

Model Structure/Homotopy Pushouts in topological monoids?

Let $\mathsf C$ be the category of topological monoids, that is, the category of monoids in $(\textsf{Top}, \times)$. Can the model category structure on $\textsf{Top}$ (Serre fibrations, ...
3 votes
1 answer
153 views

Every homomorphism between (rational) Puiseux monoids is multiplication by a non-negative rational

Let a (rational) Puiseux monoid be a non-trivial submonoid of the non-negative rational numbers under (the usual operation of) addition. It is not difficult to show that, if $f \colon H \to K$ is a (...
6 votes
1 answer
145 views

References on semigroup actions

I posted this question on Math Stack Exchange about 10 days ago, but received no answer (https://math.stackexchange.com/q/4843881/1223994). I would like to ask for references on semigroup actions on ...
3 votes
0 answers
67 views

Are the automorphisms of the power semigroup of a cancellative semigroup cardinality-preserving?

Let $S$ be a semigroup (written multiplicatively) and $f$ be an automorphism of the power semigroup $\mathcal P(S)$ of $S$, that is, a bijective function on the family of all non-empty subsets of $S$ ...
3 votes
0 answers
91 views

An isomorphism problem for semigroups of ideals

An ideal of a semigroup $S$ (written multiplicatively) is a set $I \subseteq S$ such that $IS$ and $SI$ are both contained in $I$ (here, $XY$ means, for all $X, Y \subseteq S$, the setwise product of $...
1 vote
1 answer
140 views

Congruences that aren't "finite from above," take 2: semigroups

This is a hopefully less trivial version of this question. Briefly, say that a congruence is parafinite if it is the largest congruence contained in some equivalence relation with finitely many ...
6 votes
1 answer
597 views

When is the cofibrant replacement of a product the product of the cofibrant replacements?

I'm in a situation where I'd like to prove $Q(E\otimes E) \simeq QE \otimes QE$ for a monoid $E$ in a symmetric monoidal model category. I know it's not true in general that $Q(E\otimes F)\simeq QE \...
14 votes
4 answers
734 views

Prove or disprove: $R^{n+1} \supseteq R \cap R^2 \cap \cdots \cap R^n$ for every binary relation $R$ on a set of size $n$

Prove or disprove: $R^{n+1} \supseteq R \cap R^2 \cap \cdots \cap R^n$ for every binary relation $R$ on a set of size $n$. I have verified the statement for $n \leq 4$ with a Mathematica code. I have ...
0 votes
0 answers
88 views

What is the highest $n\in\Bbb N$ for which a complete classification of inverse semigroups of order up to $n$ is known?

What is the highest $n\in\Bbb N$ for which a complete classification of inverse semigroups of order up to $n$ is known? Given that there are $3{,}684{,}030{,}417$ semigroups of order $8$, I guess $n\...
7 votes
3 answers
516 views

Is the class of inverse semigroups globally determined?

This question is a follow-up to this one I asked on math.stackexchange. I've decided to ask here because I believe this is a research-level question. I'm sorry if I'm wrong -- I'm not a researcher ...
2 votes
1 answer
122 views

Continuity of Moore-Penrose generalized inversion

Any matrix $A\in\mathbb{C}^{m\times n}$ has a unique generalized inverse $A^{\dagger}\in\mathbb{C}^{n\times m}$ with the properties $$AA^{\dagger}A=A,\qquad A^{\dagger}AA^{\dagger}=A^{\dagger},\qquad (...
2 votes
1 answer
243 views

Apropos of two groups being globally isomorphic iff they are isomorphic

Denote by $\mathcal P(S)$ the semigroup obtained by endowing the non-empty subsets of a "ground semigroup" $S$ (written multiplicatively) with the operation of setwise multiplication induced ...
0 votes
1 answer
126 views

Name for a monoid on the basis of a vector space?

Is there a name for the structure of a vector space with a monoid defined on its basis? Given a vector space V over a field F, we can choose a basis and define a monoid on it. Now we can use each ...
0 votes
1 answer
285 views

Can we generalise groupoids to monoid-oids? [closed]

Groups correspond to one object categories where every morphism is an isomorphism. Monoids correspond to one object categories. Groupoids correspond to small categories where every morphism is an ...
21 votes
1 answer
608 views

Grothendieck group of the Fibonacci monoid

Let's denote the Fibonacci numbers by $F_0=0,F_1=1,F_{n+2}=F_{n+1}+F_n \; \forall n \ge 0$. According to Zeckendorf's theorem, every positive integer can be represented uniquely as the sum of some (at ...
2 votes
1 answer
113 views

Primal identity in matrix semigroup

Given a finite set of matrix $\{M_1,M_2,\cdots,M_n\}\subseteq \mathbb{C}^{d\times d}$, we consider the semigroup generated by matrix product. We call $s_1\cdots s_k$ an identity index if $M_{s_1}M_{...
5 votes
2 answers
416 views

Generalization of the concept of a measure

Consider the following generalization of the concept of a measure: Let $L = (X, \lor, \land, \bot)$ be a semi-bounded lattice. Let $M = (Y, \bullet, e)$ be a commutative monoid. An $(L, M)$-measure is ...
3 votes
0 answers
172 views

The monoid of stably-free modules over integral group rings

Fix a torsion-free group G, let $M_G$ be the monoid of stably-free $\mathbb{Z}G$-modules under operation $\oplus$, the direct sum of modules. In studying objects related to Wall’s D2 problem on CW-...
2 votes
1 answer
115 views

On the maximum elements of a numerical semigroup that have order between $n$ and $2n$

Let $S$ be a submonoid of the non-negative integers $\mathbb Z_{\geq 0}.$ If $\mathbb Z_{\geq 0} \setminus S$ is finite, we say that $S$ is a numerical semigroup. Let $S^*$ denote the collection of ...
6 votes
0 answers
252 views

Usefulness of total algebras and exotic generating series

In his first Algebra volume, Bourbaki [1] defines the structure of a “total algebra” i.e. the space of functions on a monoid $M$ (to a ring $k$) with the convolution product ( a function $f:\ M\to k$ ...
7 votes
1 answer
152 views

Is lambda calculus polymorphism a type of generalized monad?

Let $\mathbf{C}$ be a Cartesian closed category. Then simply typed lambda calculus in $\mathbf{C}$ in one type variable can be interpreted as a category $\mathbf{STLC}_{\mathbf C}$ where the objects ...
2 votes
0 answers
290 views

Does this monoid have a name?

Fix a positive integer $n \geq 1$. Let $M$ be the monoid with generators $S=\{x_0,x_1,\ldots,x_n\}$ and relations $R = \{ \alpha x_0 = \beta x_0\colon \alpha,\beta \in S^*, |\alpha|=|\beta|\}$, where $...
5 votes
2 answers
318 views

Questions on weakly symmetric algebras

A finite dimensional algebra $A$ over a field $K$ is called weakly symmetric in case $soc(P)=top(P)$ for every indecomposable projective module $P$ and it is called symmetric in case $D(A) \cong A$ as ...
2 votes
0 answers
135 views

On the origin of power semigroups

Let $S$ be a (multiplicatively written) semigroup. Equipped with the (binary) operation of setwise multiplication $(X, Y) \mapsto \{xy \colon x \in X, \, y \in Y\}$, the family of all non-empty ...
8 votes
3 answers
1k views

Are all free monoids residually finite?

I cannot manage to prove that a free monoid with operation concatenation, and with at least two generators is residually finite. If there is just one generator, the free monoid $\{a\}^*$ is isomorphic ...
5 votes
2 answers
359 views

Grouplike and idempotent monoids

Call a monoid group-like if it embeds into its group completion. There exists an obvious tension between group-like and idempotent monoids in that a group cannot contain non-trivial idempotent ...
1 vote
1 answer
82 views

Semigroup algebras with one dimensional center

Let $S$ be a finite semigroup and $K$ a field of characteristic 0 (we can assume the complex numbers for simplicity). Question: Is there a characterization when the center of the semigroup algebra $...
1 vote
1 answer
126 views

Cycles in almost breakable semigroups

Last October, I learned from Benjamin Steinberg's answer to another question of mine that a semigroup $S$ is called breakable if $xy \in \{x, y\}$ for all $x, y \in S$. Let's now say that $S$ is an ...
6 votes
3 answers
374 views

Structure theorem for a class of idempotent monoids (where $xy = x$ or $xy = y$ for all $x, y$)

Question. Is there any structure theorem for the class of monoids $H$ with the property that $xy = x$ or $xy = y$ for all $x, y \in H$? Or does this look hopeless for some good reasons? A monoid with ...
0 votes
0 answers
41 views

Semigroups containing an appropriate subgroup

We are looking for a class of non-monoid semigroups $S$ (resp. monoids $M$) satisfying the following conditions: (1) $S$ has a left identity; (2) There exists a subgroup $H$ of $S$ (resp. $M$) such ...
4 votes
0 answers
131 views

What is the tiling semigroup for an Einstein "hat" tiling?

My undergraduate dissertation was on inverse semigroups and the key text I used for it was Lawson's, "Inverse Semigroups: The Theory of Partial Symmetries". In said book, Lawson describes ...
0 votes
0 answers
62 views

A construction that sort of merges two semigroups to build a new one

Suppose $H$ and $K$ are semigroups and assume without loss of generality that (the underlying sets of) $H$ and $K$ are disjoint. We can then extend the operations of both $H$ and $K$ to a binary ...
9 votes
1 answer
791 views

Combinatorics for the action of Virasoro / Kac–Schwarz operators: partition polynomials of free probability theory

In the background sections below, I establish the relations among characterizations of the action of Virasoro / Kac–Schwarz operators of 2D gravity models presented in terms of Laurent series by ...
0 votes
0 answers
117 views

Is there a name for this condition on a monoid?

Suppose we have a commutative monoid ${\mathcal M}=\langle M,\otimes\rangle$ such that the usual divisibility relation $\leq_\otimes$ given by $a\leq_\otimes b\Leftrightarrow \exists c(a\otimes c=b)$ ...
4 votes
1 answer
141 views

Three preprints and one manuscript of Tamura on power semigroups

I'm reading Takayuki Tamura's article "On the recent results in the study of power semigroups", pp. 191-200 in Goberstein & Higgins' Semigroups and Their Applications, Kluwer, 1987 (the ...
78 votes
12 answers
12k views

Why aren't representations of monoids studied so much?

It seems to me like every book on representation theory leaps into groups right away, even though the underlying ideas, such as representations, convolution algebras, etc. don't really make explicit ...
6 votes
1 answer
258 views

are endomorphisms "small" compared to the full transformations?

$\DeclareMathOperator\End{End}$Let $T_n$ be the full transformation semigroup/monoid of $[n]=\{1,\dots,n\}$. Let $\End(T_n)$ be the set of [endomorphisms][1] of $T_n$. Then, $\# T_n=n^n$ and $$\# \End(...

1
2 3 4 5
12