The associative-commutative spectrum of a binary operation (Q6172285)

Associativity and commutativity are important properties for binary operations. Although many familiar operations satisfy both properties, some only satisfy one or neither of them. Also, nonassociativity and noncommutativity arise in many algenraic structures. \textit{B. Csákány} and \textit{T. Waldhauser} [Mult.-Valued Log. 5, No. 3, 175--200 (2000; Zbl 0999.20054)] called the sequence \(\left(s^{\mathrm{a}}_n(*)\right)_{n\in \mathbb{N}_+}\), where \(s^{\mathrm{a}}_n(*):= |\mathcal{P}_{*}(n)|\) measures to some extent the failure of the binary operation \(*\) to be associative, the \textit{associative spectrum} of \(*\), while \textit{M. S. Braitt} and \textit{D. Silberger} [Quasigroups Relat. Syst. 14, No. 1, 11--26 (2006; Zbl 1123.20059)] named it the \textit{subassociativity type} of the groupoid \((G, *)\). This paper initiates the study of a quantitative measure for the failure of a binary operation to be commutative and associative. This measure is called the associative-commutative spectrum as it extends the associative spectrum (also known as the subassociativity type). For each \(n\geq 1\), let \(\overline{\mathcal{P}}_*(n)\) be the set of all \(n\)-ary term operations induced on \((G, *)\) by full linear terms of \(n\) variables, i.e., groupoid terms over \(X_n\) in which each variable \(x_1, \ldots, x_n\) occurs exactly once (but in arbitrary order, as opposed to bracketings). The authors called the sequence \(\left(s^{\mathrm{ac}}_n(*)\right)_{n\in \mathbb{N}_+}\), where \(s^{\mathrm{ac}}_n(*):= |\overline{\mathcal{P}}_{*}(n)|\), the \textit{associative-commutative spectrum} (ac-spectrum) of the binary operation \(*\), which measures both the nonassociativity and the noncommutativity of \(*\). The authors determine the ac-spectra for the certain binary operations and exhibit some connections to other interesting combinatorial objects and results. It turns out that the associative spectrum and the ac-spectrum have connections with the operad theory, which models both the nonassociativity and noncommutativity using binary trees. In Section 3 of the paper, they show that the upper bounds can be achieved by the free groupoid on one generator, the free associative groupoid on two generators and the free commutative groupoid on one generator. In Section 4, they focus on binary operations that are associative or commutative. For an associative noncommutative binary operation \(*\), they show that its ac-spectrum attains the upper bound \(n!\) if it has a neutral element and give some other examples for which \(s_n^{ac}(*)<n!\). In Section 5, they show that the ac-spectrum of the bilinear product of some anticommutative algebras over a field, including the cross product and certain Lie brackets, is exactly two times the upper bound \(D_{n-1}\) for the ac-spectrum of the commutative operations. In Section 6, they determine the ac-spectra of some more examples of totally nonassociative operations, including exponentiation, the implication and the negated disjunction (NOR). Finally, in Section 7, they establish that for some groupoids, two full linear terms induce the same term operation if and only if the corresponding binary trees are equivalent with respect to certain attributes related to the depths of the leaves.