Pseudo-contractibility and pseudo-amenability of semigroup algebras (Q636805)

Suppose that \({\mathcal A}\) is a Banach algebra and \(E\) is a Banach \({\mathcal A}\)-bimodule. A linear map \(D:{\mathcal A}\rightarrow E\) is a derivation if \[ D(ab)=D(a)\cdot b + a\cdot D(b) \quad (a, b \in{\mathcal A}). \] For each \(x\in E,\) the map \(\text{ad}_x:{\mathcal A}\rightarrow E\) given by \[ \text{ad}_x(a)=a\cdot x - x\cdot a \quad (a\in{\mathcal A}), \] is a continuous derivation, called an inner derivation. A Banach algebra \({\mathcal A}\) is amenable if every continuous derivation from \({\mathcal A}\) into the dual Banach \({\mathcal A}\)-bimodule \(E'\) is inner for all Banach \({\mathcal A}\)-bimodules \(E.\) \({\mathcal A}\) is said to be contractible if every continuous derivation from \({\mathcal A}\) into \(E\) is inner for all Banach \({\mathcal A}\)-bimodules. Recently \textit{F. Ghahramani} and \textit{Y. Zhang} [Math. Proc. Camb. Philos. Soc. 142, No. 1, 111--123 (2007; Zbl 1118.46046)] have introduced and studied the notions of pseudo-amenability and pseudo-contractibility for Banach algebras which is based on the existence of an approximate diagonal and central approximate diagonal, respectively. In this paper, the authors characterize pseudo-contractibility of \(\ell^1(S),\) where \(S\) is a uniformly locally finite inverse semigroup. As a consequence, they show that for a Brandt semigroup \(S={\mathcal M}^0(G, I),\) the semigroup algebra \(\ell^1(S)\) is pseudo-contractible if and only if \(G\) and \(I\) are finite. They also study the notions of pseudo-amenability and pseudo-contractibility of the semigroup algebra \(\ell^1(S)\) in terms of the amenability of \(S\).