Semigroup graded algebras and codimension growth of graded polynomial identities. (Q2347993)

For a semigroup \(T\) the associative algebra \(A\) is \(T\)-graded if \(A\) is a direct sum of subspaces \(A^{(t)}\), \(t\in T\), such that \(A^{(h)}A^{(t)}\subseteq A^{(ht)}\), \(h,t\in T\). Obviously semigroup gradings include the case of group gradings, but it is much less restricting. For example algebras which are direct sums of left ideals or direct sums of a subalgebra and an ideal have natural semigroup gradings. The paper under review is devoted to the analogue of the Amitsur conjecture for semigroup graded PI-algebras. If \(c_n^{T\text{-gr}}(A)\), \(n=0,1,2,\ldots\), is the sequence of the \(T\)-graded codimensions, is it true that the PI-exponent \(\text{PIexp}^{T\text{-gr}}(A)=\lim_{n\to\infty}\root n\of{c_n^{T\text{-gr}}(A)}\) always exists and is an integer? The positive results, over an algebraically closed field of characteristic 0, cover the cases when the \(T\)-graded analogue of the Wedderburn-Artin theorem holds, i.e., the Jacobson radical \(J\) of the finite dimensional \(T\)-graded algebra \(A\) is also \(T\)-graded and \(A/J\) is a direct sum of \(T\)-graded \(T\)-simple algebras. This happens for semigroups which are left or right zero bands and unitary algebras, or for cancellative semigroups. On the other hand, for every of the four two-element semigroups which are not groups the author constructs a finite dimensional \(T\)-graded algebra with non-integral \(T\)-graded PI-exponent. In particular, there are examples of finite dimensional \(T\)-simple algebras \(A\) such that \(\text{PIexp}^{T\text{-gr}}(A)<\dim(A)\).