No label defined (Q4515418)

For a finite alphabet \(A\) and \(\$\notin A\) define \(A(2,\$)=((A\cup\{\$\})\times(A\cup\{\$\}))\setminus\{(\$,\$)\}\) and a mapping \(\delta_A\colon A^*\times A^*\to(A(2,\$))^*\) such that \[ \delta_A(a_1\dots a_n,b_1\dots b_m)=\begin{cases}(a_1,b_1)\dots(a_n,b_n)&\text{if }n=m,\\ (a_1,b_1)\dots(a_n,b_n)(\$,b_{n+1})\dots(\$,b_m)&\text{if }n<m,\\ (a_1,b_1)\dots(a_m,b_m)(a_{m+1},\$)\dots(a_n,\$)&\text{if }n>m.\end{cases} \] A semigroup \(S\) is called automatic if there exist a finite set \(A\subseteq S\) and a regular language \(L\subseteq A^*\) such that \(\phi(L)=S\) where \(\phi\colon A^*\to S\) is a homomorphism with \(\phi(a)=a\) for all \(a\in A\) and \(\{\delta_A(\alpha,\beta);\;\alpha,\beta\in L,\;\phi(\alpha)=\phi(\beta)\}\) and \(\{\delta_A(\alpha,\beta);\;\alpha,\beta\in L,\;\phi(\alpha a)=\phi(\beta)\}\) for all \(a\in A\) are regular languages over \(A(2,\$)\). The authors prove that a direct product of two automatic semigroups \(S\) and \(T\) is automatic if and only if one of the following conditions holds: (a) \(S\) and \(T\) are infinite and \(S^2=S\) and \(T^2=T\); (b) \(S\) is infinite, \(T\) is finite and \(T^2=T\); (c) \(S\) is finite, \(T\) is infinite and \(S^2=S\); (d) \(S\) and \(T\) are finite.