Distal compact right topological groups (Q1333067)

A flow \((S,X)\) consists of a compact space \(X\) with a group \(S\) acting on it. The closure \(\overline {S}\) of \(S\) in the compact semigroup \(X^ X\) of all maps from \(X\) to \(X\) is a semigroup which is right topological (\(\rho_ y: x\mapsto xy\) is continuous for each \(y\)) but not usually left topological; it is called the enveloping semigroup. The structure of \(\overline {S}\) reflects the dynamics of the flow. The flow is called distal if \(\overline {S}\) is a group. Now take a compact left topological group \(G\), so that \(\lambda_ x: x\mapsto xy\) is continuous for each \(x\in G\). This paper starts with the interesting idea of considering the enveloping semigroup \(\overline {G}\) for the flow \((G,G)\). Several conditions equivalent to the flow being distal are given. If it is, then \(G\) is topologically a retract of \(\overline {G}\), but the retraction map is a homomorphism only if \(G= \overline {G}\). Now (interchanging left and right) if \(\overline {G}\) is a group, we have a flow \((\overline {G}, \overline {G})\); in this distal? This question is left open, but the paper concludes with a sequence of examples illustrating the theory.