We introduce algebraic dynamical systems, which consist of an action of a
right LCM semigroup by injective endomorphisms of a group. To each algebraic
dynamical system we associate a C*-algebra and describe it as a semigroup
C*-algebra. As part of our analysis of these C*-algebras we prove results for
right LCM semigroups. More precisely we discuss functoriality of the full
semigroup C*-algebra and compute its K-theory for a large class of semigroups.
We introduce the notion of a Nica-Toeplitz algebra of a product system over a
right LCM semigroup, and show that it provides a useful alternative to study
algebraic dynamical systems.Comment: 28 pages, to appear in Indiana Univ. Math.