Constituent groups of Clifford semigroups arising from \(t\)-closure (Q1014613)

From the introduction: ``Let \(R\) be an integral domain with quotient field \(K\). For a nonzero fractional ideal \(I\) of \(R\), let \(I^{-1}:=(R:I)=\{x\in K\mid xI\subseteq R\}\). The \(v\)- and \(t\)-closures of \(I\) are defined, respectively, by \(I_{v}:=(I^{-1})^{-1}\) and \(I_{t}:=\bigcup J_{v}\) where \(J\) ranges over the set of finitely generated subideals of \(I\). The ideal \(I\) is said to be a \(v\)-ideal if \(I_{v}=I\), and a \(t\)-ideal if \(I_{t}=I\). Under the ideal \(t\)-multiplication \((I,J)\mapsto (IJ)_{t}\), the set \(F_{t}(R) \) of fractional \(t\)-ideals of \(R\) is a semigroup with unit \(R\). An invertible element for this operation is called a \(t\)-invertible \(t\)-ideal of \(R\). So the set \(\mathrm{Inv}_{t}(R)\) of \(t\)-invertible fractional \(t\)-ideals of \(R\) is a group with unit \(R\) [cf. \textit{R. Gilmer}, Multiplicative Ideal Theory. Pure and Applied Mathematics. Vol. 12. (New York): Marcel Dekker, Inc. (1972; Zbl 0248.13001)]. Let \(F(R)\), \(\mathrm{Inv}(R)\), and \(P(R)\) denote the sets of nonzero, invertible, and nonzero principal fractional ideals of \(R\), respectively. Under this notation, the Picard group [\textit{D. F. Anderson}, J. Algebra 115, No. 2, 342--351 (1988; Zbl 0651.13009)]; \textit{H. Bass} and \textit{M. P. Murthy}, [Ann. Math. (2) 86, 16--73 (1967; Zbl 0157.08202)]; \textit{S. Greco}, [J. Pure Appl. Algebra 18, 129-142 (1980; Zbl 0442.13008)], class group [\textit{A. Bouvier}, ``107-ème Congres des Sociétés Savantes'', Brest, 4, 85--92 (1982); \textit{A. Bouvier} and \textit{M. Zafrullah}, Bull. Greek Math. Soc. 29, 45--59 (1988; Zbl 0754.13017)], \(t\)-class semigroup [\textit{S. Kabbaj} and \textit{A. Mimouni}, J. Reine Angew. Math. 612, 213--229 (2007; Zbl 1151.13003)], and class semigroup [\textit{S. Bazzoni} and \textit{L. Salce}, Isr. J. Math. 95, 135--155 (1996; Zbl 0869.13006), 23, 29] of \(R\) are defined as follows: \(\mathrm{Pic}(R):=\mathrm{Inv}(R)/P(R)\), \(Cl(R):=\mathrm{Inv}_{t}(R)/P(R)\), \(S_{t}(R) :=F_{t}(R)/P(R)\) and \(S(R):=F(R)/P(R).\) We have the set-theoretic inclusions \(\mathrm{Pic}(R)\subseteq Cl(R)\subseteq S_{t}(R)\subseteq S(R),\) where the first and third inclusion turns into equality in the class of Prufer domains and the second inclusion turns into equality in the class of Krull domains. A commutative semigroup \(S\) is said to be Clifford if every element \(x\) of \(S\) is (von Neumann) regular, i.e., there exists \(a\in S\) such that \(x^{2}a=x\). The importance of a Clifford semigroup \(S\) resides in its ability to stand as a disjoint union of subgroups \(G_{e}\), where \(e\) ranges over the set of idempotents of \(S\), and \(G_{e}\) is the largest subgroup of \(S\) with identity equal to \(e\); namely, \(G_e = \{ae\mid abe=e\text{ for some }b\in S\}\) [cf. \textit{J. M. Howie}, Fundamentals of Semigroup Theory. London Mathematical Society Monographs. New Series. 12. (Oxford): Clarendon Press. (1995; Zbl 0835.20077)]. Often, the \(G_{e}\)'s are called the constituent groups of \(S\). A domain \(R\) is called a PVMD (Prüfer \(v\)-multiplication domain) if \( R_{M}\) is a valuation domain for each \(t\)-maximal ideal \(M\) of \(R\). Ideal \(t\) -multiplication converts ring notions such as PID, Dedekind, Bezout, and Prüfer, respectively to UFD, Krull, GCD, and PVMD. Recall at this point that the PVMDs of finite \(t\)-character (i.e., each proper \(t\)-ideal is contained in only finitely many \(t\)-maximal ideals) are exactly the Krull-type domains introduced by Griffin in 1967-68 [\textit{M. Griffin}, Can. J. Math. 19, 710--722 (1967; Zbl 0148.26701); J. Reine Angew. Math. 229, 1--27 (1968; Zbl 0173.03504)]. Divisibility properties of \(R\) are often reflected in semigroup-theoretic properties of \(S(R)\) and \(S_{t}(R)\). Obviously, Dedekind (resp., Krull) domains have Clifford class (resp., \(t\)-class) semigroup. In 1994, \textit{P. Zanardo} and \textit{U. Zannier} proved that all orders in quadratic fields have Clifford class semigroup [Math. Proc. Camb. Philos. Soc. 115, No. 3, 379--391 (1994; Zbl 0828.11068)]. They also showed that the ring of all entire functions in the complex plane (which is Bezout) fails to have this property. In 1996, Bazzoni and Salce proved that any arbitrary valuation domain has Clifford semigroup [Zbl 0869.13006]. In [\textit{S. Bazzoni}, J. Algebra 184, No. 2, 613--631 (1996; Zbl 0856.13014); Proceedings in honour of Adalberto Orsatti's 60th birthday, Padua, Italy, 1997. New York, NY: Marcel Dekker. Lect. Notes Pure Appl. Math. 201, 79--89 (1998; Zbl 0928.13011); Commun. Algebra 28, No. 11, 5157--5167 (2000; Zbl 0997.13005)], Bazzoni examined the case of Prüfer domains of finite character, showing that these, too, have Clifford class semigroup. In 2001, she completely resolved the problem for the class of integrally closed domains by stating that ``an integrally closed domain has Clifford class semigroup if and only if it is a Prüfer domain of finite character'' [\textit{S. Bazzoni}, J. Algebra 238, No. 2, 703--722 (2001; Zbl 1027.13011), Theorem 4.5]. Recently, we extended this result to the class of PVMDs of finite character; namely, ``a PVMD has Clifford \(t\)-class semigroup if and only if it is a Krull-type domain'' [\textit{S. Kabbaj, A. Mimouni}, J. Reine Angew. Math. 612, 213--229 (2007; Zbl 1151.13003), Theorem 3.2]. This paper extends Bazzoni and Salce's study of groups in the class semigroup of a valuation domain [Zbl 0869.13006] or a Prüfer domain of finite character [Zbl 0928.13011; Zbl 0997.13005] to a larger class of integral domains. Precisely, we describe the idempotents of \(S_{t}(R)\) and the structure of their associated groups when \(R\) is a Krull-type domain. Indeed, we prove that there are two types of idempotents in \(S_{t}(R)\): those represented by certain fractional overrings of \(R\) and those represented by finite intersections of \(t\)-maximal ideals of certain fractional overrings of \(R\). Further, we show that the group associated with an idempotent of the first type equals the class group of the fractional overring, and characterize the elements of the group associated with an idempotent of the second type in terms of their localizations at \(t\)-prime ideals. Our findings recover Bazzoni's results on the constituents groups of the class semigroup of a Prüfer domain of finite character.''