The structure of the centralizer of a permutation (Q1100564)

Relative to the symmetric groups \(S_ n\) the structure of centralizers of permutations are known as direct products of certain general wreath products. A recent generalization of the cycle notation for partial one- one transformations (charts) is applied to show that relative to the symmetric inverse semigroups \(C_ n\) the structure of centralizers of permutations are also direct products of certain subsemigroups of a new wreath product, and this new wreath includes the former as a subgroup. A necessary and sufficient condition is given for two charts to commute and the approach for the \(C_ n\)-case parallels and generalizes the one for the \(S_ n\)-case. As a result, the \(C_ n\)-case yields the standard known characterizations of commuting permutations, as well as formulas for the orders of centralizers as corollaries. It is an open problem to extend these results to the centralizers of arbitrary charts in \(C_ n\).