The finite basis problem for Kauffman monoids. (Q745715)

The Kauffman monoid (sometimes called Temperley-Lieb-Kauffman monoid) \(\mathcal K_n\) is defined as follows, for a positive integer \(n\geq 2\). It is generated by \(\{c,h_1,\ldots,h_{n-1}\}\), subject to the relations: \(h_ih_j=h_jh_i\) if \(|i-j|\geq 2\); \(h_ih_jh_i=h_i\) if \(|i-j|=1\); and \(h_ih_i=ch_i=h_ic\). The authors show that \(\mathcal K_n\) is nonfinitely based for all \(n\geq 3\). They in fact show that the following condition suffices for a variety \(\mathbf V\) of semigroups to be nonfinitely based (moreover, of infinite axiomatic rank): (i) \(\mathbf V\) is contained in the variety generated by the Mal'cev product of the variety of commutative semigroups with some locally finite variety \(\mathbf W\), and (ii) each Zimin word is an isoterm relative to \(\mathbf V\). Some extensions and several further applications of this general result are also given. As the authors explain, this article represents a unification of work by the first author, the middle three authors, and the last author.