Symmetric inverse semigroup

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In abstract algebra, the set of all partial bijections on a set X (a.k.a. one-to-one partial transformations) forms an inverse semigroup, called the symmetric inverse semigroup[1] (actually a monoid) on X. The conventional notation for the symmetric inverse semigroup on a set X is [math]\displaystyle{ \mathcal{I}_X }[/math][2] or [math]\displaystyle{ \mathcal{IS}_X }[/math].[3] In general [math]\displaystyle{ \mathcal{I}_X }[/math] is not commutative.

Details about the origin of the symmetric inverse semigroup are available in the discussion on the origins of the inverse semigroup.

Finite symmetric inverse semigroups

When X is a finite set {1, ..., n}, the inverse semigroup of one-to-one partial transformations is denoted by Cn and its elements are called charts or partial symmetries.[4] The notion of chart generalizes the notion of permutation. A (famous) example of (sets of) charts are the hypomorphic mapping sets from the reconstruction conjecture in graph theory.[5]

The cycle notation of classical, group-based permutations generalizes to symmetric inverse semigroups by the addition of a notion called a path, which (unlike a cycle) ends when it reaches the "undefined" element; the notation thus extended is called path notation.[5]

See also

Notes

References

  • Lipscomb, S. (1997). Symmetric Inverse Semigroups. AMS Mathematical Surveys and Monographs. American Mathematical Society. ISBN 0-8218-0627-0. 
  • Ganyushkin, Olexandr; Mazorchuk, Volodymyr (2008). Classical Finite Transformation Semigroups: An Introduction. Springer. doi:10.1007/978-1-84800-281-4. ISBN 978-1-84800-281-4. 
  • Hollings, Christopher (2014). Mathematics across the Iron Curtain: A History of the Algebraic Theory of Semigroups. American Mathematical Society. ISBN 978-1-4704-1493-1.