Left semi-braces and solutions of the Yang-Baxter equation (Q670971)

``Braces'' are sets endowed with two operations such that they give rise to set-theoretical solutions \(r:X\times X\longrightarrow X\times X\) of the Yang-Baxter equation: \[(r\times\operatorname{id})(\operatorname{id}\times r)(r\times\operatorname{id})=(\operatorname{id}\times r)(r\times\operatorname{id})(\operatorname{id}\times r).\] There are different kinds of ``braces'' depending on the properties satisfied by the two operations and, as expected, these affect the associated solutions. For instance, finite involutive non-degenerate solutions correspond to ``left braces''. The authors of the present paper investigate ``braces'' in the more general sense by extending results known for some types of ``braces''. More precisely, the authors deal with ``left semi-braces'' \((B,\cdot,\circ)\), i.e., \((B,\cdot)\) is a semigroup, \((B,\circ)\) is a group and \[ a\circ(b\cdot c)=(a\circ b)\cdot(a\circ(\bar{a}\cdot c)) \] for all \(a,b,c\in B\), with \(\bar{a}\) being the inverse of \(a\) in \((B,\circ)\). Under some assumptions, the authors completly describe the structure of \((B,\cdot)\) and moreover, they split \((B,\cdot,\circ)\) as a matched product of two left semi-braces with special properties. They also introduce the concept of ``ideal'' in left semi-braces. These turn out to be the kernels of the restrictions to \((B,\circ)\) of braces homomorphisms. They prove that the quotient of \(B\) by an ideal is a left semi-brace. Finally, the authors show that left semi-braces effectively yield set-theoretical solutions of the Yang-Baxter equation and study the structure monoids associated to these solutions. Explicitly, the solution attached to \((B,\cdot,\circ)\) is the map \(r:B\times B\longrightarrow B\times B\) defined by \[ r(a,b)=\bigl(a\circ(\bar{a}\cdot b),\overline{(\bar{a}\cdot b)}\circ b\bigr). \] Regarding the structure monoid, which is \[ M(B)=\bigl\langle x\in B\mid xy=uv\quad\mbox{if}\quad r(x,y)=(u,v)\bigr\rangle, \] they demonstrate that, as an algebra over a any field, it is Noetherian, has finite Gelfand--Kirillov dimension and satifies a polynomial identity.