On free products of semigroups and a new proof of Isbell's zigzag theorem (Q1614638)

Isbell's Zigzag Theorem for semigroups characterizes the extent to which a homomorphism from a semigroup \(S\) is determined by its action on some subsemigroup \(U\) of \(S\). The original proof of Isbell is topological in nature. The proof of Stenström makes use of tensor products while that of the reviewer uses a semigroup analogue of HNN extensions. A proof through grappling directly with the corresponding amalgamated free product had proved elusive due to the intractable nature of that object. In this paper Renshaw does prove the Zigzag Theorem using the amalgamated free product by employing certain homological techniques developed by the author elsewhere.