SgpDec : Cascade (de)compositions of finite transformation semigroups and permutation groups

We describe how the SgpDec computer algebra package can be used for composing and decomposing permutation groups and transformation semigroups hierarchically by directly constructing substructures of wreath products, the so called cascade products.Final Accepted Versio

Representation Theory of Finite Semigroups, Semigroup Radicals and Formal Language Theory

In this paper we characterize the congruence associated to the direct sum of all irreducible representations of a finite semigroup over an arbitrary field, generalizing results of Rhodes for the field of complex numbers. Applications are given to obtain many new results, as well as easier proofs of several results in the literature, involving: triangularizability of finite semigroups; which semigroups have (split) basic semigroup algebras, two-sided semidirect product decompositions of finite monoids; unambiguous products of rational languages; products of rational languages with counter; and \v{C}ern\'y's conjecture for an important class of automata

Effective dimension of finite semigroups

In this paper we discuss various aspects of the problem of determining the minimal dimension of an injective linear representation of a finite semigroup over a field. We outline some general techniques and results, and apply them to numerous examples.Comment: To appear in J. Pure Appl. Al

Exploring the concept of interaction computing through the discrete algebraic analysis of the Belousov–Zhabotinsky reaction

Interaction computing (IC) aims to map the properties of integrable low-dimensional non-linear dynamical systems to the discrete domain of finite-state automata in an attempt to reproduce in software the self-organizing and dynamically stable properties of sub-cellular biochemical systems. As the work reported in this paper is still at the early stages of theory development it focuses on the analysis of a particularly simple chemical oscillator, the Belousov-Zhabotinsky (BZ) reaction. After retracing the rationale for IC developed over the past several years from the physical, biological, mathematical, and computer science points of view, the paper presents an elementary discussion of the Krohn-Rhodes decomposition of finite-state automata, including the holonomy decomposition of a simple automaton, and of its interpretation as an abstract positional number system. The method is then applied to the analysis of the algebraic properties of discrete finite-state automata derived from a simplified Petri net model of the BZ reaction. In the simplest possible and symmetrical case the corresponding automaton is, not surprisingly, found to contain exclusively cyclic groups. In a second, asymmetrical case, the decomposition is much more complex and includes five different simple non-abelian groups whose potential relevance arises from their ability to encode functionally complete algebras. The possible computational relevance of these findings is discussed and possible conclusions are drawn

Profinite Groups Associated to Sofic Shifts are Free

We show that the maximal subgroup of the free profinite semigroup associated by Almeida to an irreducible sofic shift is a free profinite group, generalizing an earlier result of the second author for the case of the full shift (whose corresponding maximal subgroup is the maximal subgroup of the minimal ideal). A corresponding result is proved for certain relatively free profinite semigroups. We also establish some other analogies between the kernel of the free profinite semigroup and the \J-class associated to an irreducible sofic shift

M\"obius Functions and Semigroup Representation Theory II: Character formulas and multiplicities

We generalize the character formulas for multiplicities of irreducible constituents from group theory to semigroup theory using Rota's theory of M\"obius inversion. The technique works for a large class of semigroups including: inverse semigroups, semigroups with commuting idempotents, idempotent semigroups and semigroups with basic algebras. Using these tools we are able to give a complete description of the spectra of random walks on finite semigroups admitting a faithful representation by upper triangular matrices over the complex numbers. These include the random walks on chambers of hyperplane arrangements studied by Bidigare, Hanlon, Rockmere, Brown and Diaconis. Applications are also given to decomposing tensor powers and exterior products of rook matrix representations of inverse semigroups, generalizing and simplifying earlier results of Solomon for the rook monoid.Comment: Some minor typos corrected and references update