This first text on the subject provides a comprehensive introduction to the representation theory of finite monoids. Carefully worked examples and exercises provide the bells and whistles for graduate accessibility, bringing a broad range of advanced readers to the forefront of research in the area. Highlights of the text include applications to probability theory, symbolic dynamics, and automata theory. Comfort with module theory, a familiarity with ordinary group representation theory, and the basics of Wedderburn theory, are prerequisites for advanced graduate level study. Researchers in algebra, algebraic combinatorics, automata theory, and probability theory, will find this text enriching with its thorough presentation of applications of the theory to these fields. Prior knowledge of semigroup theory is not expected for the diverse readership that may benefit from this exposition. The approach taken in this book is highly module-theoretic and follows the modern flavor of the theory of finite dimensional algebras. The content is divided into 7 parts. Part I consists of 3 preliminary chapters with no prior knowledge beyond group theory assumed. Part II forms the core of the material giving a modern module-theoretic treatment of the Clifford –Munn–Ponizovskii theory of irreducible representations. Part III concerns character theory and the character table of a monoid. Part IV is devoted to the representation theory of inverse monoids and categories and Part V presents the theory of the Rhodes radical with applications to triangularizability. Part VI features 3 chapters devoted to applications to diverse areas of mathematics and forms a high point of the text. The last part, Part VII, is concerned with advanced topics. There are also 3 appendices reviewing finite dimensional algebras, group representation theory, and Möbius inversion.

This book is intended to present group representation theory at a level accessible to mature undergraduate students and beginning graduate students. This is achieved by mainly keeping the required background to the level of undergraduate linear algebra, group theory and very basic ring theory. Module theory and Wedderburn theory, as well as tensor products, are deliberately avoided. Instead, we take an approach based on discrete Fourier Analysis. Applications to the spectral theory of graphs are given to help the student appreciate the usefulness of the subject. A number of exercises are included. This book is intended for a 3rd/4th undergraduate course or an introductory graduate course on group representation theory. However, it can also be used as a reference for workers in all areas of mathematics and statistics.

Very roughly speaking, representation theory studies symmetry in linear spaces. It is a beautiful mathematical subject which has many applications, ranging from number theory and combinatorics to geometry, probability theory, quantum mechanics, and quantum field theory. The goal of this book is to give a ``holistic'' introduction to representation theory, presenting it as a unified subject which studies representations of associative algebras and treating the representation theories of groups, Lie algebras, and quivers as special cases. Using this approach, the book covers a number of standard topics in the representation theories of these structures. Theoretical material in the book is supplemented by many problems and exercises which touch upon a lot of additional topics; the more difficult exercises are provided with hints. The book is designed as a textbook for advanced undergraduate and beginning graduate students. It should be accessible to students with a strong background in linear algebra and a basic knowledge of abstract algebra.

A textbook for an undergraduate course, requiring only a knowledge of basic linear algebra. Explains how to compute presentations for finitely generated cancellative monoids, and from a presentation of a monoid, decide whether this monoid is cancellative, reduced, separative, finite, torsion free, group, affine, full, normal, etc. Of most interest to people working with semigroup theory, but also in other areas of algebra. Annotation copyrighted by Book News, Inc., Portland, OR

View the abstract.

This book contains a collection of fifteen articles and is dedicated to the sixtieth birthdays of Lex Renner and Mohan Putcha, the pioneers of the field of algebraic monoids. Topics presented include: structure and representation theory of reductive algebraic monoids monoid schemes and applications of monoids monoids related to Lie theory equivariant embeddings of algebraic groups constructions and properties of monoids from algebraic combinatorics endomorphism monoids induced from vector bundles Hodge–Newton decompositions of reductive monoids A portion of these articles are designed to serve as a self-contained introduction to these topics, while the remaining contributions are research articles containing previously unpublished results, which are sure to become very influential for future work. Among these, for example, the important recent work of Michel Brion and Lex Renner showing that the algebraic semi groups are strongly π-regular. Graduate students as well as researchers working in the fields of algebraic (semi)group theory, algebraic combinatorics and the theory of algebraic group embeddings will benefit from this unique and broad compilation of some fundamental results in (semi)group theory, algebraic group embeddings and algebraic combinatorics merged under the umbrella of algebraic monoids.

These proceedings are from the Tenth International Conference on Representations of Algebras and Related Topics (ICRA X) held at The Fields Institute. In addition to the traditional ``instructional'' workshop preceding the conference, there were also workshops on ``Commutative Algebra, Algebraic Geometry and Representation Theory'', ``Finite Dimensional Algebras, Algebraic Groups and Lie Theory'', and ``Quantum Groups and Hall Algebras''. These workshops reflect the latest developments and the increasing interest in areas that are closely related to the representation theory of finite dimensional associative algebras. Although these workshops were organized separately, their topics are strongly interrelated. The workshop on Commutative Algebra, Algebraic Geometry and Representation Theory surveyed various recently established connections, such as those pertaining to the classification of vector bundles or Cohen-Macaulay modules over Noetherian rings, coherent sheaves on curves, or ideals in Weyl algebras. In addition, methods from algebraic geometry or commutative algebra relating to quiver representations and varieties of modules were presented. The workshop on Finite Dimensional Algebras, Algebraic Groups and Lie Theory surveyed developments in finite dimensional algebras and infinite dimensional Lie theory, especially as the two areas interact and may have future interactions. The workshop on Quantum Groups and Hall Algebras dealt with the different approaches of using the representation theory of quivers (and species) in order to construct quantum groups, working either over finite fields or over the complex numbers. In particular, these proceedings contain a quite detailed outline of the use of perverse sheaves in order to obtain canonical bases. The book is recommended for graduate students and researchers in algebra and geometry.