The translational degree of a semigroup (Q791670)

The translational hull of a semigroup has been studied extensively as an important tool in the theory of ideal extensions. Most of the results of this paper pertain to finite semigroups, but some apply to a much larger class of semigroups. If S is a weakly reductive semigroup, the translational degree of S is the cardinal number of the complement of S in its translational hull. It is, in a sense, a measure of how non- trivial the multiplicative structure of the semigroup is. Classes of semigroups included in this paper for consideration are free semigroups, null extensions, and finite abelian semigroups S such that \(S=ES\), where E is the set of idempotents of S. Some counting theorems which lead to the computation of the degree of S are established for some semigroups in the latter class. A number of examples are presented in order to illustrate results and to demonstrate their limitations.