A construction of compact right topological semigroups from compact groups (Q1820878)

The aim of the paper is to construct a class of pathological compact right topological semigroups. To be precise, each of the semigroups \(\Sigma\) produced has the following properties. (i) There is a dense open discrete subsemigroup S. (ii) The complement of S in \(\Sigma\) is the minimal ideal of \(\Sigma\). (iii) This minimal ideal is a left group and therefore isomorphic with \(E\times G\) where E is left-zero and G is a group. (iv) Each maximal subgroup \(\{\) \(e\}\times G\) is dense in \(E\times G\). The paper asserts that such a semigroup can be constructed starting from any infinite group G which can be given a compact topology \(\gamma\) taking S to be any subsemigroup dense in (G,\(\gamma)\). The proof takes \(\Sigma\) to be the Gelfand space of the \(C^*\)-algebra generated by those bounded functions on G which are \(\gamma\)-continuous except at one point. The paper also asserts that \(\{\) \(s\in \Sigma:\) \(x\mapsto sx\) is continuous\(\}\) is precisely S. This is true provided E has at least two elements. D. Helmer has pointed out that statements in the paper which imply that E is always large are incorrect. In fact, if \(\gamma\) is non- metrizable then E has exactly one point (so that \(E\times G\) is isomorphic with G). For metrizable \(\gamma\), E has cardinal \(2^{{\mathfrak c}}\), where \({\mathfrak c}\) is the cardinal of the continuum. Proofs of these assertions, together with a simpler construction of these semigroups, will be published in this journal by \textit{D. Helmer} and \textit{N. Isik}.