Identities in finitely generated semigroups of polynomial growth (Q1204442)

The author solves some outstanding open problems on growth functions in semigroups. Let \(M\) be a nonempty set and \(F\) the free semigroup over \(M\). Let \(S\) be a semigroup generated by \(M\). The length \(\ell(s)\) of \(s\in S\) (with respect to \(M\)) is the minimum length among the words \(w\in F\) whose image is \(s\) under the induced homomorphism of \(F\) on \(M\). For \(m\in N\) (the natural numbers) let \(g_{M,S}(m)\) (or just \(g_ S(m))\) be \(|\{s\in S:\ell(s)\leq m\}|\). The function \(g_ S\) is the ``growth function'' of \(S\); \(S\) is of ``polynomial growth'' if there exist \(C\), \(d\in N\) such that \(g_ S(m)\leq Cm^ d\) for all \(m\in N\). From the work of a combination of authors, it was known that any finitely generated group and more generally, any finitely generated cancellative semigroup, with polynomial growth satisfies a nontrivial semigroup identity. Let \(\mathcal M\) be the class of nilsemigroups presented by \(\langle a_ 1,\dots,a_ n,0:u_ i=0,i\in N\rangle\). Such semigroups have unique minimal generating sets. The author shows that \(\mathcal M\) contains a 2-generated semigroup \(\Pi\) whose growth function has the property that for any positive real number \(\mu\), and for sufficiently large \(m\), \(m^ 2<g_ \Pi(m)<m^{2+\mu}\) yet \(\Pi\) satisfies no nontrivial identity. In fact there are uncountably many semigroups in \(\mathcal M\) with polynomial growth that satisfy no such identity. On the other hand if \(S\in\mathcal M\) and its growth function is quadratically bounded then \(S\) must satisfy such an identity. Finally, he obtains necessary and sufficient conditions on a monotone nondecreasing function \(f: N\to N\) in order that a semigroup \(T\) in \(\mathcal M\) with growth function \(O(f(m))\) should satisfy a nontrivial identity.