Expansions, free inverse semigroups, and Schützenberger product (Q579420)

In this second paper of the series of three, the authors develop a new construction of the free inverse monoid on a set X as an alternative to those of \textit{H. E. Scheiblich} [Semigroup Forum 4, 351-359 (1972; Zbl 0259.20054)], \textit{W. D. Munn} [Proc. Lond. Math. Soc., III. Ser. 29, 385- 404 (1974; Zbl 0305.20033)] and more lately \textit{M. Reynolds} [Semigroup Forum 30, 291-296 (1984; Zbl 0535.20035)]. The ingredients are the free group on X and the relation that associates to a word w of the free monoid on X, the set of all pairs (u,v) such that \(uv=w\). The construction shows that the free inverse semigroup is embedded in the so called Schützenberger product of two free groups on X (a certain inverse semigroup of \(2\times 2\) matrices which arises in language theory).