Rees quotients of \({\mathcal N}\)-semigroups (Q802023)

An \({\mathcal N}\)-semigroup is a commutative cancellative archimedean idempotent-free semigroup. The reviewer raised the question: Under what condition is a commutative nil semigroup N the Rees quotient of an \({\mathcal N}\)-semigroup? The case of N generated by at most two generators was proved by the author [Dissertation, Univ. California, Davis (1980)]. \textit{Y. Kobayashi} gave a solution to the problem in case N is finite by a different method [Semigroup Forum 24, 361-371 (1982; Zbl 0485.20051)], where he introduced the concept of ''cancellation-reduced''. In this paper the author gives (I) necessary and sufficient conditions for (not necessarily finite) nil semigroups to be Rees quotients of \({\mathcal N}\)- semigroups. Her condition is described in terms of a partial subsemigroup of an abelian group and a partial homomorphism of \(N\setminus \{0\}\) into the positive reals. More important is her second result in case N is finite. The condition can be stated in terms of a certain identity of elements of the subgroup of \({\mathbb{Z}}^ n\) (\({\mathbb{Z}}\) is the group of integers), and this condition is equivalent to Kobayashi's ''cancellation- reduced''. (In the proof (I) is used.) Consequently Kobayashi's condition (1) in Theorem 1 at p. 365 in his paper [loc. cit.] is a consequence of (2) in the same theorem. However, the reviewer heard from Y. Kobayashi in a personal letter that one can prove directly that (2) implies (1).