The lattice of semilattice-matrix decompositions of a semigroup (Q1567142)

Suppose we are given a semilattice decomposition of a semigroup \(S\) into some subsemigroups \(S_\alpha\), and then we decompose each \(S_\alpha\) into a matrix of some semigroups. The authors call such a decomposition a semilattice-matrix decomposition of \(S\). Note that such a decomposition need not be a congruence of \(S\). Semilattice-matrix decompositions of a semigroup \(S\) are shown to form a complete lattice under inclusion, where the join may not coincide with the join in the lattice of equivalence relations on the set \(S\). These two joins are shown to coincide, however, if we consider only such decompositions which have the same underlying semilattice congruence. Reviewer's remark: The last result follows immediately from elementary observations and a bit of universal algebra.