On the semigroup \(\beta S\) (Q1279803)

If \(S\) is a discrete semigroup then the Stone-Čech compactification \(\beta S\) of \(S\) is naturally a compact right topological semigroup. Particular cases of this situation, when \(S\) is the additive group \(\mathbb{N}\) (or \(\mathbb{Z})\), have been studied in great detail; many of the arguments rely on the fact that such an \(S\) is countable. In this paper, the author shows how to extend many of the results to an arbitrary cancellative semigroup \(S\).