Effective subdirect decompositions of regular semigroups. (Q1006338)

By a theorem of \textit{I. Fleischer} [Acta Math. Acad. Sci. Hung. 6, 463-465 (1955; Zbl 0070.26301)], a semigroup \(S\) is a spined product of two semigroups \(P\) and \(Q\) with respect to their common homomorphic image \(H\) if and only if there exists a pair of congruences \(\rho,\tau\) on \(S\) such that \(\rho\circ\tau=\tau\circ\rho\), \(S/\rho\cong P\), \(S/\tau\cong Q\), and \(S/\rho\circ\tau\cong H\). In the paper under review several commuting pairs of congruences are specified which decompose any regular semigroup \(S\) into a spined product (here called pull-back product) of two semigroups. In particular, for (completely) regular semigroups, whose idempotents form subsemigroups belonging to certain varieties of bands, precise structural descriptions of the components in such a subdirect decomposition are given. For example: any regular semigroup \(S\) is a spined product of \(S/K_\ell\) and \(S/K_r\) with respect to \(S/K_d\), where \(aK_\ell b\) iff \(xa=xb\) for any \(x\in S\), \(aK_rb\) iff \(ax=bx\) for any \(x\in S\), and \(aK_db\) iff \(xay=xby\) for all \(x,y\in S\). As a consequence, every regular semigroup is a spined product of a left reductive regular and a right reductive regular semigroup with respect to a regular (hence reductive) semigroup.