Homology and closure properties of autostackable groups

Autostackability for finitely presented groups is a topological property of the Cayley graph combined with formal language theoretic restrictions, that implies solvability of the word problem. The class of autostackable groups is known to include all asynchronously automatic groups with respect to a prefix-closed normal form set, and all groups admitting finite complete rewriting systems. Although groups in the latter two classes all satisfy the homological finiteness condition $FP_\infty$, we show that the class of autostackable groups includes a group that is not of type $FP_3$. We also show that the class of autostackable groups is closed under graph products and extensions.Comment: 20 page

Topological finiteness properties of monoids. Part 1: Foundations

We initiate the study of higher dimensional topological finiteness properties of monoids. This is done by developing the theory of monoids acting on CW complexes. For this we establish the foundations of $M$-equivariant homotopy theory where $M$ is a discrete monoid. For projective $M$-CW complexes we prove several fundamental results such as the homotopy extension and lifting property, which we use to prove the $M$-equivariant Whitehead theorems. We define a left equivariant classifying space as a contractible projective $M$-CW complex. We prove that such a space is unique up to $M$-homotopy equivalence and give a canonical model for such a space via the nerve of the right Cayley graph category of the monoid. The topological finiteness conditions left-$\mathrm{F}_n$ and left geometric dimension are then defined for monoids in terms of existence of a left equivariant classifying space satisfying appropriate finiteness properties. We also introduce the bilateral notion of $M$-equivariant classifying space, proving uniqueness and giving a canonical model via the nerve of the two-sided Cayley graph category, and we define the associated finiteness properties bi-$\mathrm{F}_n$ and geometric dimension. We explore the connections between all of the these topological finiteness properties and several well-studied homological finiteness properties of monoids which are important in the theory of string rewriting systems, including $\mathrm{FP}_n$, cohomological dimension, and Hochschild cohomological dimension. We also develop the corresponding theory of $M$-equivariant collapsing schemes (that is, $M$-equivariant discrete Morse theory), and among other things apply it to give topological proofs of results of Anick, Squier and Kobayashi that monoids which admit presentations by complete rewriting systems are left-, right- and bi-$\mathrm{FP}_\infty$.Comment: 59 pages, 1 figur

Higher-dimensional normalisation strategies for acyclicity

We introduce acyclic polygraphs, a notion of complete categorical cellular model for (small) categories, containing generators, relations and higher-dimensional globular syzygies. We give a rewriting method to construct explicit acyclic polygraphs from convergent presentations. For that, we introduce higher-dimensional normalisation strategies, defined as homotopically coherent ways to relate each cell of a polygraph to its normal form, then we prove that acyclicity is equivalent to the existence of a normalisation strategy. Using acyclic polygraphs, we define a higher-dimensional homotopical finiteness condition for higher categories which extends Squier's finite derivation type for monoids. We relate this homotopical property to a new homological finiteness condition that we introduce here.Comment: Final versio

Finite convergent presentations of plactic monoids for semisimple lie algebras

We study rewriting properties of the column presentation of plactic monoid for any semisimple Lie algebra such as termination and confluence. Littelmann described this presentation using L-S paths generators. Thanks to the shapes of tableaux, we show that this presentation is finite and convergent. We obtain as a corollary that plactic monoids for any semisimple Lie algebra satisfy homological finiteness properties

Hopfian and co-hopfian subsemigroups and extensions

This paper investigates the preservation of hopficity and co-hopficity on passing to finite-index subsemigroups and extensions. It was already known that hopficity is not preserved on passing to finite Rees index subsemigroups, even in the finitely generated case. We give a stronger example to show that it is not preserved even in the finitely presented case. It was also known that hopficity is not preserved in general on passing to finite Rees index extensions, but that it is preserved in the finitely generated case. We show that, in contrast, hopficity is not preserved on passing to finite Green index extensions, even within the class of finitely presented semigroups. Turning to co-hopficity, we prove that within the class of finitely generated semigroups, co-hopficity is preserved on passing to finite Rees index extensions, but is not preserved on passing to finite Rees index subsemigroups, even in the finitely presented case. Finally, by linking co-hopficity for graphs to co-hopficity for semigroups, we show that without the hypothesis of finite generation, co-hopficity is not preserved on passing to finite Rees index extensions.Comment: 15 pages; 3 figures. Revision to fix minor errors and add summary table