Semigroup Forum OF1OF13

c 2004 Springer

DOI: 10.1007/s00233-004-0145-x

RESEARCH ARTICLE

On Factorisations and Generators in

Transformation Semigroups
Gonca Ayk , Hayrullah Ayk and John M. Howie
Communicated by John B. Fountain

Abstract
It is shown that the classical decomposition of permutations into disjoint
cycles can be extended to more general mappings by means of path-cycles, and
an algorithm is given to obtain the decomposition. The device is used to obtain
information about generating sets for the semigroup of all singular selfmaps of
Xn = {1, 2, . . . , n} . Let Tn,r = Sn Kn,r , where Sn is the symmetric group
and Kn,r is the set of maps : Xn Xn such that |im()| r . The smallest
number of elements of Kn,r which, together with Sn , generate Tn,r is pr (n) ,
the number of partitions of n with r terms.

Introduction
The full transformation semigroup TX on a set X , the semigroup analogue of
the symmetric group, has been much studied over the last fty years, in both
the nite and innite cases. Here we are concerned solely with the case where
X = Xn = {1, 2, . . . , n}, and we denote the semigroup TXn of all self maps of
Xn by Tn .
The notational diculties one encounters in analysing maps in Tn are
much greater than those one meets in the study of symmetric groups. Graphs
are certainly helpful, but are clumsy on the printed page. Lipscomb (see [7])
was the rst to develop what one might call a linear notation, and over several
papers showed the power of his methods. In this paper we describe an alternative
approach.
In Section 1 we develop a notation for certain primitive elements of Tn
called path-cycles, and describe an algorithm to decompose an arbitrary in Tn
into a product of path-cycles. In the following section we use our techniques to
obtain information about generators in Tn , and in particular give a new proof of
a theorem in [4], that every map in STn = Tn \ Sn (where Sn is the symmetric
group) is a composition of 2 -paths (idempotents of rank n 1 ).
The rst author is supported by the Scientic and Technical Research Council of Turkey

(TUBITAK)
with a NATO (A2) Science Fellowship.
The second author is supported by the TUBITAK

Basic Science (TBAG) Mathematics

Working Group.

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Ayk, Ayk, and Howie

If V is a subsemigroup of a semigroup S , then the relative rank r(S : V )

of V in S is dened by
r(S : V ) = min{|G| : G S and V G = S} .
This has been studied for innite TX in [2] and [3]. In the nal section we
consider a related idea. For 1 r n 1 , we consider the semigroups
Kn,r = { Tn : |im()| r} , and Tn,r = Kn,r Sn , and dene the contingent
rank cont(Tn,r ) by
cont(Tn,r ) = min{|G| : G Kn,r and G Sn  = Tn,r } .
It is known that, for Tn,n1 = STn the contingent rank is 1 . We show that
cont(Tn,r ) = pr (n) , the number of partitions of n with r terms.
For undened terms in semigroup theory, see [5].
1. Path-cycles
Let Xn = {1, . . . , n} and let Tn be the full transformation semigroup on Xn .
If, for X = {x1 , . . . , xm } Xn , Tn is dened by
x1 = x2 , . . . , xm1 = xm , xm = xr and x = x (x Xn \ X)
where xr X , then is called a path-cycle of length m and period r , or an
(m, r) -path-cycle, and is denoted by = [x1 , . . . , xm | xr ]. Moreover:
if r = m , we say that is an m-path to xm ;
if m 2 and r = 1 , we say that is an m-cycle;
if m = r = 1 , we say that is a loop.
An (m, r) -path-cycle with r = 1 is called a proper path-cycle. Notice that there
is exactly one loop, namely the identity map I = [1 | 1] .
If = [x1 , . . . , xm | xr ] is an (m, r) -path-cycle, we dene
r1 () = {x1 , . . . , xm }.
Let and be two path-cycles of Tn . If r1 () r1 () = then and are
called disjoint. If r1 () r1 () consists of one and only one element, then
and are called 1 -joint.
2. Factorisations
We show that every in Tn is expressible as a product (that is to say, a
composition) of path-cycles, using the following algorithm.

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(A) Decomposition Algorithm. Let Tn be any non-identity map,

and let x Xn . Then the sequence (x, x, x2 , . . .) must have repetitions, and so there exists a unique kx N such that x, x, . . . , xkx
are all distinct, but xkx +1 {x, x, . . . , xkx } . Each path-cycle x =
[x, x, . . . , xkx | xkx +1 ] is called a divisor of . The rst factor of
, denoted by 1 , is one of the longest divisors of . (If there are two or
more divisors with maximum length, choose the one which has the smallest rst entry among them, in the natural order of Xn . In applying this
alphabetical rule, assume that each cycle [x1 , . . . , xk | x1 ] is written so
that x1 = min{x1 , . . . , xk } .) Then dene (1) : Xn Xn by


x if x r1 (1 )
x(1) =
x if x
/ r1 (1 ) ,
and call it the rst residue of . It is clear that
1 (1) = .
Now carry out a similar procedure on (1) , obtaining 2 , the second
factor of , and (2) , the second residue of . Continue this procedure
until
p = [1 | 1] , (p) = [1 | 1] ,
and = 1 . . . p .
The integer p is called the path-cycle rank of and is denoted by pcr() . If
= I is the identity map, then we take I = [1 | 1] and pcr(I) = 0 . It is clear
that, if Sn , the algorithm gives the standard decomposition into disjoint
cycles.
Example 1.

Let

=

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
4 7 9 6 7 4 10 4 3 7


.

Then, applying the algorithm (A), we obtain

= [1, 4, 6 | 4] [2, 7, 10 | 7] [3, 9 | 3] [5, 7 | 7] [8, 4 | 4] .
The decomposition of a mapping into path-cycles is not unique. For
example, the mapping in Example 1 could be expressed as
[8, 4, 6 | 4] [5, 7, 10 | 7] [1, 4 | 4] [2, 7 | 7] [3, 9 | 3] .
If, however, we apply the algorithm, observing the alphabetical principle in
parentheses, the decomposition is unique. The number of cycles in the decomposition is certainly unique, and we denote it by cycl(). The defect def() is
dened by
def() = |Xn \ im()| .

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Ayk, Ayk, and Howie

Theorem 2.

Let Tn . Then

(i) pcr() = def() + cycl();

(ii) if 1 , 2 , . . . , p are the factors of , then, for all i, j in {1, 2, . . . , p} ,
such that i < j , the path-cycles i and j are either disjoint or 1 -joint.
The latter possibility, with r1 (i ) r1 (j ) = {x} , can occur only if
(a) both i and j are proper path-cycles; and
(b) x is not the rst element of i , and j is a path to x.
Proof.
(i) By denition, if the factor i = [x1 , . . . , xk | xr ] is a proper pathcycle, then x1
/ im() . Each i is either a cycle or a proper path-cycle, and
the number of the latter is precisely def() .
(ii) For p = 1 there is nothing to prove. For p 2 , consider
i = [y1 , . . . , yk | yr ] and j = [z1 , . . . , zl | zs ]
(where 1 i < j p ). Since, by denition, (i) xes all the elements
y1 , . . . , yk , the only way in which j can avoid being disjoint from i is for
j to be an l -path to zl (that is, for s to be equal to l ) with zl {y1 , . . . , yk } .
If i is not a cycle, then zl im() and y1
/ im , and so we cannot have
zl = y1 .
Suppose now that i is a cycle. Writing zl as x, we can suppose
that we have written i with x as the rst element. Then there is a pathcycle [z1 , . . . , zl1 , x, y2 , . . . , yk | x] longer than i . The algorithm makes this
impossible.
It is clear that disjoint path-cycles commute with each other. Hence we
immediately have the following corollary.
Corollary 3.
The factors i and j commute if and only if either they are
disjoint or they are paths to the same x. In particular they commute if at least
one of i and j is a cycle.
Proof.
It remains to prove that if i and j are both proper path-cycles,
are not disjoint and are not both paths to the same x, then they do not
commute. Suppose that i < j and i = [y1 , . . . , yk | yr ] , with r = 1 , and
j = [z1 , . . . , zl | zl ] . (From Theorem 2 we know that j must be a path.)
Again from Theorem 2, we must have zl = ys , with 1 < s k . Now
zl1 i j = zl1 j = zl , while zl1 j i = zl i = ys i , and this equals zl
only if i is a path to yk , with yk = zl .
Remark. This is not the place to give a full explanation of the Lipscomb
approach, but an example may draw attention to the dierence. Let


1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
=
.
2 1 1 3 3 7 6 9 9

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Ayk, Ayk, and Howie

The graphical representation is
4r

3
r

r5

r1

6r

8r

9r


r

2
In the Lipscomb notation this becomes
(4 3 1 (5 3 1 (1 2) (6 7) (8 9 (9) ,
where (4 3 1, (5 3 1 and (8 9 are (non-maximal) proper paths, while (1 2) ,
(6 7) and (9) are circuits. Our notation gives
[4, 3, 1, 2 | 1] [5, 3 | 3] [6, 7 | 6] [8, 9 | 9]
and has the important advantage that each of the factors is a mapping in its
own right. It should of course be pointed out that Lipscombs notation was
developed primarily to cope with partial maps.
3. Generating sets
It is well known (see [4]) that the full singular transformation semigroup of
degree n , denoted by STn (= Tn \Sn ) , is generated by the set of all 2 -paths
(idempotents of rank n 1 ) in Tn , and that Tn is generated by the set of all 2 path-cycles of Tn . In this section we give an alternative proof using path-cycles,
and give a new generating set for STn and Tn .
Theorem 4.
Let STn . Then there exist proper path-cycles 1 , . . . , k
such that = 1 . . . k .
Proof.
In general, the factors 1 , 2 , . . . , p of will include some cycles,
but there must be at least one proper path-cycle, since is singular. By
Corollary 3, we may suppose that we have re-adjusted the factors so that in
the product 1 . . . p all of the cycles come after the rst of the proper pathcycles. Let 1 = [x1 , . . . , xm | xr ] with xr = x1 . If j = [y1 , . . . , yq | y1 ] is a
cycle factor of , then 1 j = 1 j , where
j = [x1 , y1 , . . . , yq | y1 ] .
Thus each of the cycles j can be replaced by the proper path-cycle j , and
the result is proved.

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The set of all 2 -paths in STn generates STn .

Theorem 5.
Proof.

First observe that, for 2 r < m , we have

[x1 , . . . , xr , . . . , xm | xr ] = [xm , xr1 | xr1 ] [x1 , x2 , . . . , xm | xm ] ,

(1)

and, for m 3 ,
[x1 , . . . , xm1 , xm | xm ] = [xm1 , xm | xm ] [x1 , x2 , . . . , xm1 | xm1 ] .

(2)

The result now follows inductively from (1), (2) and Theorem 4.
Theorem 6.
For each m in {2, . . . , n} , the semigroup STn can be generated
by its path-cycles of length m .
Proof.
We show rst that every proper path-cycle of length k can be written
as a product of proper path-cycles of length k + 1 .
Let = [x1 , x2 , . . . , xk | xr ] with r = 1 . If k is odd, dene
= [x1 , x3 , . . . , xk2 , xk , x2 , x4 , . . . , xk1 , xk+1 | xr ]

and
=

[xk+1 , xk1 , xk2 , . . . , x2 , x1 , xk | xr2 ] if r 3

[xk+1 , xk1 , xk2 , . . . , x2 , x1 , xk | xk ]
if r = 2 ,

so that = . If k is even, dene

= [x1 , x3 , . . . , xk1 , xk+1 , x2 , x4 , . . . , xk2 , xk | xr ]
and

[xk , xr2 , xr3 , . . . , x2 , x1 , xk+1 , xk1 , xk2 , . . . , xr1 | xr2 ]

[xk , xk+1 , xk1 , xk2 , . . . , x2 , x1 , | xk+1 ]

if r 3
if r = 2,

so that = . Therefore, by induction on k , we can write all proper 2 -paths

as a product of proper path-cycles of length m , and so the result follows from
Theorem 5.
We can even generate STn by a subset of the set of all path-cycles of
length m .
Theorem 7.
For each m in {2, . . . , n} , the semigroup STn can be generated
by its m -paths.
Proof.

Dene
= [xm , xm1 , . . . , x4 , x3 , x1 , x2 | x2 ]
= [x1 , x3 , x4 , . . . , xm1 , xm , x2 | x2 ] .

Then = [x1 , x2 | x2 ] , and the result now follows from Theorem 5.

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Ayk, Ayk, and Howie

It is well known that the set of all the 2 -cycles of Sn generates Sn , and
that the set of all the 3 -cycles of An generates An , the alternating group.
Since STn is an ideal of Tn , it is also clear that every generating set of Tn must
contain a subset which generates Sn .
Theorem 8.
If n m 2 and m is even, then the set of all the m-paths
and m-cycles in Tn generates Tn . If n m 3 and m is odd, then the set of
all the m-paths and m-cycles in Tn generates SAn = STn An .
Proof.

Let = [x1 , x2 , . . . , xm | x1 ] Sn . Then dene

= [x1 , . . . , xm , xm+1 , xm+2 | x1 ]
= [x1 , xm+1 , xm , . . . , x2 , xm+2 | x1 ]
= [x1 , x3 . . . , xm , xm+2 , x2 , x4 , . . . , xm1 , xm+1 | x1 ]

so that
=

if m is even
if m is odd.

Thus every m -cycle can be written as a product of (m+2) -cycles. In particular,

by repetition, every 2 -cycle is a product of ((k 1)2 + 2) -cycles, and every 3 cycle is a product of ((k 1)2 + 3) -cycles ( k Z+ ). The results follow from the
facts that Sn is generated by its 2 -cycles and An is generated by its 3 -cycles.
4. Ranks
For 1 r n , let
Kn,r = { Tn : |im()| r} ,

Tn,r = Kn,r Sn .

Thus Kn,n = Tn,n = Tn,n1 = Tn , and Kn,n1 = STn .

It is evident from the well known inequality
def() max{def(), def()}

(, Tn )

(3)

(see [4]) that both Kn,r and Tn,r are subsemigroups of Tn .

For each Tn , we denote the smallest subsemigroup of Tn containing
both Sn and by . It is well known (see [8]) that [x, y | y] = Tn for
all distinct x, y in Xn .
Before stating the next theorem, it is convenient to prove a lemma that
will be useful both now and later. Each in Tn determines an equivalence
ker() . This in turn determines an (arithmetical) partition of n , consisting of
the sizes of the classes of ker(), and we denote this partition by part() Thus,
for example, if


1 2 3 4 5
=
,
2 5 2 5 3
then part() = (2, 2, 1) .

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Ayk, Ayk, and Howie

Lemma 9.

Let , Tn . The following statements are equivalent:

(i) there exist , in the symmetric group Sn such that = ;

(ii) |im()| = |im()| and part() = part().
Proof.
(i) (ii). Since = and = 1 1 , we have J , and
so |im()| = |im()|. Also, since R , it follows that ker() = ker() , and
so certainly part() = part() . Next, observe that, for all x, y in Xn ,
(x, y) ker() if and only if (x 1 , y 1 ) ker() = ker() .
Thus ker() is simply a translate of ker() = ker() , and it follows that
part() = part() .
(ii) (i). We may suppose, in a standard notation, that

=

A1 A2 . . . Ak
b1 b2 . . . bk


,

C1 C2 . . . Ck
d1 d2 . . . dk


,

where |Ai | = |Ci | (i = 1, 2, . . . , k) . Let be the permutation mapping Ci onto

Ai for i = 1, 2, . . . , k . Let map bi to di (i = 1, 2, . . . , k) and map Xn \ im()
bijectively onto Xn \ im() . Then = .
Theorem 10.

Let , Tn .

(i)  =  if and only if there exist , Sn such that = .

(ii)  = Tn if and only if def() = 1.
Proof.
(i) It is clear that = implies that  = . Suppose now
that  = . We observe rst that
|im()| = |im()| ,

(4)

for if, for example, |im()| < |im()|, it would follow that
/ , for 
contains only elements of rank not exceeding rank () .
Next, we shall show that part() = part() , and from this it will follow
by Lemma 9 that = for some , in Sn . Since , it follows
that for some m and some 1 , 2 , . . . , m+1 in Sn ,
= 1 2 . . . m m+1 .
It is clear from Lemma 9 that the required result holds if m = 1 . If m 2 we
write = m+1 , where
= 1 2 . . . m .

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We may suppose inductively that part() = part() . Then
|im()| |im()| |im()| ,

and so, by (4), |im()| = |im()|. Suppose that , and belong to the
J -class Jr = { Tn : |im()| = r} . Then the elements and m+1 are
non-zero elements in the completely 0 -simple principal factor
Pn,r = Kn,r /(Kn,r1 Kn,r2 . . . Kn,1 ) .
By [5, Lemma 3.3.5], = m+1 R within Pn,r , and so certainly within Tn .
Hence ker() = ker() , and it follows that
part() = part() = part() .
(ii) ( ) If = [x1 , x2 , . . . , xm | xr ] is a path-cycle, dene
= [x1 , xm , xm1 , . . . , x2 | x1 ] Sn .

(5)

It is clear that if is a cycle then = 1 . If is a proper path-cycle, then

= [x1 , xr | xr ] ,

= [xm , xr1 | xr1 ]

and = .

(6)

If def() = 1 and has factors 1 , . . . , p , then all the factors are cycles
except one. By Corollary 3 we may assume that we have rearranged the factors
so that the unique proper factor is
p = [x1 , . . . , xm | xr ] .
Let = p . . . 1 . Then, by (6) and again by Corollary 3,
= p p = [x1 , xr | xr ] .
Hence  =  = Tn .
( ) Suppose that def() 2 . From (3) we deduce that no with
1 def() < def() can belong to .
Theorem 11.
Let STn with |im()| = r , and let m = n r . Then
there exists Sn such that
im() = {m + 1, m + 2, . . . , n} .
Proof.
If im() = {m + 1, m + 2, . . . , n} , take = [1 | 1] , the identity map.
Otherwise, since {m + 1, . . . , n} contains r elements and |im()| = r , there
exist 1 i1 < < ik m such that {i1 , . . . , ik } = im() {1, . . . , m} . This

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Ayk, Ayk, and Howie

implies that im() {m + 1, . . . , n} contains r k elements. Hence there exist

m + 1 j1 < < jk n such that j1 , . . . , jk
/ im() . Let
= [i1 , j1 | i1 ] . . . [ik , jk | ik ] ;

(7)

then it is easy to check that im() = {m + 1, m + 2, . . . , n} .

Theorem 12.
Let STn with |im()| = r , and let m = n r . Then
there exist , Sn and i = [i, xi | xi ] with xi m + 1 (1 i m) such
that = 1 . . . m .
Proof.

From Theorem 11, there exists such that

im() = {m + 1, m + 2, . . . , n} .

From Corollary 3 we deduce that = 1 . . . m , where is the product of all

the cycle factors of , and i = [i, yi2 , . . . , yiqi | yiri ] with yiri = i ( 1 i m ).
Let
= 1 2 . . . m , = m . . . 2 1 .
(8)
Then, noting that Sn , we see that
=
=
=
=
=

= ()1 = ()1 m . . . 2 ( 1 1 )2 . . . m
()1 ( m . . . 2 )[1, y1r1 | y1r1 ](2 . . . m )
()1 [1, y1r1 | y1r1 ]( m . . . 2 2 . . . m )
...
()1 [1, y1r1 | y1r1 ] . . . [m, ymrm | ymrm ] .

The result follows, with = ()1 and xi = yiri .

We have already encountered arithmetical partitions, but now we need to
record some notations. For n, r Z+ with n r , let Pr (n) denote the set of
integer solutions of the equation
x1 + x2 + + xr = n with x1 x2 xr 1.
If (n1 , n2 , . . . , nr ) is a solution of the equation, then it is called a partition of n
with r terms. (See [1].) Let pr (n) = |Pr (n)|.
For n, r Z+ with n r , let m = n r and s = min{2m, n} . If
(n1 , n2 , . . . , nr ) is a partition of n , then we dene
(n1 ,n2 ,...,nr ) = [1, x1 | x1 ] [2, x2 | x2 ] . . . [m, xm | xm ] STn ,
where
m + 1 = x1 = x2 = = xn1 1

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OF11

m + 2 = xn1 = xn1 +1 = = xn1 +n2 2

..
.
s 1 = x(n1 ++nr2 )r+3 = x(n1 ++nr2 )r+4 = = x(n1 ++nr1 )r+1
s = x(n1 ++nr1 )r+2 = x(n1 ++nr1 )r+3 = = x(n1 ++nr )r
and, with these notations, dene
Xn,r = { (n1 ,n2 ,...,nr ) : (n1 , n2 , . . . , nr ) is a partition of n }.
For example, consider (4, 2, 1, 1) , which is a partition of 8 with 4 terms; then
(4,2,1,1) = [1, 5 | 5] [2, 5 | 5] [3, 5 | 5] [4, 6 | 6] X8,4 .
Notice that the two 1 s contribute nothing to (4,2,1,1) . Indeed
(1,1,...,1) = [1 | 1] .
Lemma 13.
Let STn with |im()| = r . Then, with the above notations,
there exists (n1 ,n2 ,...,nr ) Xn,r such that  = (n1 ,n2 ,...,nr ) .
Proof.
Let STn with |im()| = r , and let m = nr . Then, by Theorem
12, there exist , Sn and 2 -paths 1 , . . . , m such that = 1 . . . m 1 ,
where i = [i, xi | xi ] and xi m + 1 ( 1 i m ). Then  = 1 . . . m .
In addition, by Corollary 3, we can use the commuting of disjoint paths to
re-order the i so that
m + 1 x1 = = xm1 < xm1 +1 = = xm1 +m2 < xm1 +m2 +1
= = xm1 ++mk1 < xm1 ++mk1 +1 = = xm1 ++mk n ,

(9)

with m1 + + mk = m. Since there are k 1 proper inequalities in (9), we

have that
n m1 + + mk (m + 1) + (k 1)
and so k n m = r .
If x1 = = xm1 = m + 1 , then dene 1 = [1 | 1] . Otherwise, dene
1 = [m + 1, x1 | m + 1] . Since 1 is disjoint from j for all j m1 + 1 , and
since 1 is a transposition, it follows from Corollary 3 that
1 (1 2 . . . m )1 = (1 1 1 )(1 2 1 ) . . . (1 m1 1 )m1 +1 m .
Now, for i = 1, . . . , m1
1 i 1 = [m + 1, x1 | m + 1] [i, x1 | x1 ] [m + 1, x1 | m + 1] = [i, m + 1 | m + 1] ,

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Ayk, Ayk, and Howie

and so
1 (1 . . . m )1 = [1, m + 1 | m + 1] . . . [m1 , m + 1 | m + 1]m1 +1 . . . m .
Then we consider xm1 +1 = = xm1 +m2 m + 2 , and similarly dene


2 =

[1 | 1]
if xm1 +1 = = xm1 +m2 = m + 2
[m + 2, xm1 +1 | m + 2] otherwise.

Continuing, we eventually obtain a permutation = 1 2 . . . k ( = k . . . 1 ,

since the transpositions i are disjoint) such that
( 1 ) = [1, m + 1 | m + 1] . . . [m1 , m + 1 | m + 1]
[m1 + 1, m + 2 | m + 2] . . . [m1 + m2 , m + 2 | m + 2]
..
.
[m1 + + mk1 + 1, m + k | m + k] . . . [m, m + k | m + k] .
Notice that, if k = r , then
(m1 + 1) + + (mk + 1) = m + k = m + r = n ,
and so (m1 +1, m2 +1, . . . , mk +1) is a partition of n . Thus 1 Xn,r . If
k = r , then we consider the partition (m1 + 1, m2 + 1, . . . , mk + 1, nk+1 , . . . , nr )
of n where nk+1 = = nr = 1 , and so 1 Xn,r . The required result
then follows from Theorem 10.
Recall now that
cont(Tn,r ) = min{|G| : G Kn,r and G Sn  = Tn,r } .
We have shown that {p : p Pr (n)} Sn generates { Tn : |im()| = r} ,
and it follows from [6, Lemma 4] that it generates the whole of Tn,r . Hence
cont(Tn,r ) pr (n) . In eect, we have proved half of the following result.
Theorem 14.

cont(Tn,r ) = pr (n).

Proof.
Let Jr . As in the proof of Theorem 10, we can show that
part() = part() for every in  Jr . It follows that a set G in Km,r
such that G Sn  = Tn,r must contain, for each partition p in Pr (n) , at least
one element such that part() = p . Hence cont() pr (n) , and our proof
is complete.
References
[1] Hardy, G. H. and E. M. Wright, An Introduction to the Theory of Numbers, Fifth Edition, Oxford University Press, 1979.

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[2] Higgins, P. M., J. M. Howie and N. Ruskuc, Generators and factorisations

of transformation semigroups, Proc. Royal Soc. Edinburgh A 128 (1998),
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versus uncountable ranks in semigroups of transformations and relations,
Proc. Edinburgh Math. Soc. 46 (2003), 531534.
[4] Howie, J. M., The subsemigroup generated by the idempotents of a full
transformation semigroup, J. London Math. Soc. 41 (1966), 707716.
[5] Howie, J. M., Fundamentals of Semigroup Theory, Oxford University
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[7] Lipscomb, S., Symmetric Inverse Semigroups, Math. Surveys and Monographs, Vol. 46, American Math. Soc., Providence, 1996.
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Department of Mathematics
Cukurova

University
Adana, Turkey

Mathematical Institute
University of St Andrews
North Haugh
St Andrews, Fife KY16 9SS, U.K.
jmh@st-and.ac.uk

Received October 21, 2003

and in nal form July 30, 2004
Online publication December 2, 2004

Department of Mathematics
Cukurova

University
Adana, Turkey
hayik@mail.cu.edu.tr