Partial actions of monoids. (Q2461613)

The study of group actions (full actions of groups on sets) has been naturally generalised to partial group actions by various authors, such as \textit{R. Exel} [Proc. Am. Math. Soc. 126, No. 12, 3481-3494 (1998; Zbl 0910.46041)] and \textit{J. Kellendonk} and \textit{M. V. Lawson} [Int. J. Algebra Comput. 14, No. 1, 87-114 (2004; Zbl 1056.20047)]. An obvious question deals with the possibility of constructing an action starting with a partial action, either by enlarging the group (expansion method) or by enlarging the set (globalisation method). The author points out that partial monoid actions are far from being well known and refers to the work of \textit{M. Megrelishvili} and \textit{L. Schröder} [Topology Appl. 145, No. 1-3, 119-145 (2004; Zbl 1079.54016)], whose approach follows in this paper. Two possible kinds of partial actions are considered, a weak and a strong, that differ on the conditions under which the composition is defined. Premorphisms, introduced by \textit{D. B. McAlister} and \textit{N. R. Reilly} [Pac. J. Math. 68, 161-174 (1977; Zbl 0368.20043)], play an important role within inverse semigroup theory and appear also in the scenery of partial actions of groups. In fact, Kellendonk and Lawson showed that every partial action of a group \(G\) on a set \(X\) is equivalent to a premorphism from \(G\) into the symmetric inverse monoid \(\mathcal I_X\) on \(X\). When considering partial monoid actions the author shows that the corresponding semigroups to be considered are no longer inverse but of a wider type: weakly left E-ample. These semigroups can be looked at as \((2,1,0)\)-subalgebras of some semigroup \(\mathcal{PT}_X\) of partial maps on \(X\). [Strong] premorphisms into weakly left E-ample semigroups generalise premorphisms between inverse monoids. The first main result of this paper states that any [strong] partial action of a monoid \(M\) on a set \(X\) is equivalent to a [strong] premorphism from \(M\) into \(\mathcal{PT}_X\). The second part of the paper deals with the construction of a full action starting with a partial monoid action. Given a strong partial action of a monoid \(M\) on a set \(X\), equivalently a strong premorphism \(\theta\) from \(M\) into \(\mathcal{PT}_X\), how can a monoid action on \(X\) be constructed? The author's first aim was to use the expansion method of enlarging \(M\). Indeed by considering the Szendrei expansion \(S_Z(M)\) of \(M\), a morphism \(\overline\theta\) of \(S_Z(M)\) into \(\mathcal{PT}_X\) was obtained. Notice that this is not an action in the usual sense since the maps obtained are partial maps on \(X\). However it is certainly a good choice since \(\overline\theta\) extends \(\theta\) and conversely if one starts with such \(\overline\theta\) its restriction to \(M\) is a strong premorphism from \(M\) into \(\mathcal{PT}_X\). The globalisation method is also considered by the author. In this case given a strong partial action \(\theta\) of a monoid \(M\) on a set \(X\), he constructs a new overset \(Y\) of \(X\) such that \(M\) acts on \(Y\), extending \(\theta\). This time one does get an action, i.e., a morphism from \(M\) into \(\mathcal T_Y\). The set \(Y\) is constructed using methods analogous to the ones of \textit{J. Kellendonk} and \textit{M. V. Lawson} [loc. cit.] and \textit{M. Megrelishvili} and \textit{L. Schröder} [loc. cit.]. Fixed a generating set \(N\) of \(M\), the set \(Y\) is the quotient of \(X\times M\) by a certain equivalence relation and the new action ``respects'' the elements of \(N\). The author also shows that the globalisation of a monoid partial action is possible if and only if it is strong. Moreover, such globalisation is an initial object of the category of all globalisations of the partial action \(\theta\) with respect to \(N\). The paper concludes with an analysis of the one-one case, i.e., partial actions associated to premorphisms from \(M\) into \(\mathcal I_X\). A partial action is one-one if and only if its expanded action is one-one. With respect to globalisation, by starting with a one-one partial action one may fail to get a one-one globalisation, but the converse clearly holds. One-one partial actions arise for example in the world of right cancellative monoids, whose Szendrei expansions are left ample monoids [\textit{J. Fountain} and \textit{G. M. S. Gomes}, Mathematika 37, No. 2, 251-260 (1990; Zbl 0721.20037)], i.e., \((2,1,0)\)-subalgebras of some inverse monoid \(\mathcal I_X\).