Skew compact semigroups

Abstract

Skew compact spaces are the best behaving generalization of compact Hausdorff spaces to non-Hausdorff spaces. They are those (X ; τ ) such that there is another topology τ* on X for which τ V τ* is compact and (X; τ ; τ*) is pairwise Hausdorff; under these conditions, τ uniquely determines τ *, and (X; τ*) is also skew compact. Much of the theory of compact T₂ semigroups extends to this wider class. We show:

A continuous skew compact semigroup is a semigroup with skew compact topology τ, such that the semigroup operation is continuous τ²â†’ τ. Each of these contains a unique minimal ideal which is an upper set with respect to the specialization order.

A skew compact semigroup which is a continuous semigroup with respect to both topologies is called a de Groot semigroup. Given one of these, we show:

It is a compact Hausdorff group if either the operation is cancellative, or there is a unique idempotent and S² = S.

Its topology arises from its subinvariant quasimetrics.

Each *-closed ideal ≠ S is contained in a proper open ideal.