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Keith Kearnes
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I'm not sure if this description is snappy enough, but I will explain why any collection of isomorphism types of subgroups of symmetric groups can be realized as $\mathbb G(A)$ for some algebra $A$.

But first, let me address this phrase from the problem statement: in which each variable actually appears. This condition does not restrict. If an algebra $A$ has a term $t(x,y,z)$ where only $x$ and $y$ `actually appear', then one can expand $A$ by adding a new fundamental operation $f$ intepreted so that $f(x,y,z) := t(x,y,z)$ on $A$. This has no effect on which functions are the interpretations of $n$-ary terms for $A$, but it does have an effect on whether variables `actually appear' in the term: each of $x$, $y$, and $z$ actually appears in $f$, while $f$ has the same symmetry group as $t$.

Instead of the condition on term operations in which each variable actually appears I shall work with the condition on term operations which depend on all variables.

Now, back to the problem. Let $\mathcal K$ be a class of subgroups of finite symmetic groups. For a given $G\in\mathcal K$, where $G\leq S_n$, define an $n$-ary operation $f_G(x_1,\ldots,x_n)$ on the set $\{a, b\}\cup \mathbb N^+ = \{a, b, 1, 2, 3, \ldots\}$ as follows: $$ f_G(\bar{u}) = \begin{cases} a & \textrm{if $\bar{u} = (\sigma(1),\ldots,\sigma(n))$ for some $\sigma\in G$;}\\ b & \textrm{otherwise.} \end{cases} $$ Let $A$ be the algebra on $\{a,b\}\cup \mathbb N^+$ whose operations are all operations of the form $f_G$, $G\in\mathcal K$.

I claim that the following are true.

  • Each $f_G$ depends on all of its variables.
  • The symmetry group of $f_G(x_1,\ldots,x_n)$ is $G\;(\leq S_n)$.
  • Any term operation of $A$ that depends on all of its variables is obtained from one of the $f_G$'s by permuting the variables. Hence, its symmetry group is conjugate to $G$ in $S_n$.

This is enough to show that $\mathbb G(A)$ consists of exactly the isomorphism types of groups in $\mathcal K$.

Keith Kearnes
  • 14.6k
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