This paper investigates the computational complexity of deciding if a given finite idempotent algebra has a ternary term operation $m$ that satisfies the minority equations $m(y,x,x)\approx m(x,y,x)\approx m(x,x,y)\approx y$. We show that a common polynomial-time approach to testing for this type of condition will not work in this case and that this decision problem lies in the class NP.

It is known that a countable $\omega $-categorical structure interprets all finite structures primitively positively if and only if its polymorphism clone maps to the clone of projections on a two-element set via a continuous clone homomorphism. We investigate the relationship between the existence of a clone homomorphism to the projection clone, and the existence of such a homomorphism which is continuous and thus meets the above criterion.

A new class of functions with a unique identification minor is introduced: functions determined by content and singletons. Relationships between this class and other known classes of functions with a unique identification minor are investigated. Some properties of functions determined by content and singletons are established, especially concerning invariance groups and similarity.

Given a partial action $\unicode[STIX]{x1D703}$ of a group on a set with an algebraic structure, we construct a reflector of $\unicode[STIX]{x1D703}$ in the corresponding subcategory of global actions and study the question when this reflector is a globalization. In particular, if $\unicode[STIX]{x1D703}$ is a partial action on an algebra from a variety $\mathsf{V}$ , then we show that the problem reduces to the embeddability of a certain generalized amalgam of $\mathsf{V}$ -algebras associated with $\unicode[STIX]{x1D703}$ . As an application, we describe globalizable partial actions on semigroups, whose domains are ideals.

A permutoid is a set of partial permutations that contains the identity and is such that partial compositions, when defined, have at most one extension in the set. In 2004 Peter Cameron conjectured that there can exist no algorithm that determines whether or not a permutoid based on a finite set can be completed to a finite permutation group. In this note we prove Cameron’s conjecture by relating it to our recent work on the profinite triviality problem for finitely presented groups. We also prove that the existence problem for finite developments of rigid pseudogroups is unsolvable. In an appendix, Steinberg recasts these results in terms of inverse semigroups.

In an earlier paper, Romanowska, Ślusarski and Smith described a duality between the category of polytopes (finitely generated real convex sets considered as barycentric algebras) and a certain category of intersections of hypercubes, considered as barycentric algebras with additional constant operations. The present paper provides an extension of this duality to a much more general class of so-called quasipolytopes, that is, convex sets with polytopes as closures. The dual spaces of quasipolytopes are Płonka sums of open polytopes, which are considered as barycentric algebras with some additional operations. In constructing this duality, we use several known and new dualities: the Hofmann–Mislove–Stralka duality for semilattices; the Romanowska–Ślusarski–Smith duality for polytopes; a new duality for open polytopes; and a new duality for injective Płonka sums of polytopes.

We investigate the function $d_{\mathbf{A}}(n)$, which gives the size of a least size generating set for $\mathbf{A}^{n}$.

In this paper, we investigate strongly regular congruences on $E$-inversive semigroups $S$. We describe the complete lattice homomorphism of strongly regular congruences, which is a generalization of an open problem of Pastijn and Petrich for regular semigroups. An abstract characterization of left and right traces for strongly regular congruences is given. The strongly regular (sr) congruences on $E$-inversive semigroups $S$ are described by means of certain strongly regular congruence triples $({\it\gamma},K,{\it\delta})$ consisting of certain sr-normal equivalences ${\it\gamma}$ and ${\it\delta}$ on $E(S)$ and a certain sr-normal subset $K$ of $S$. Further, we prove that each strongly regular congruence on $E$-inversive semigroups $S$ is uniquely determined by its associated strongly regular congruence triple.

We address the question of the dualizability of nilpotent Mal’cev algebras, showing that nilpotent finite Mal’cev algebras with a nonabelian supernilpotent congruence are inherently nondualizable. In particular, finite nilpotent nonabelian Mal’cev algebras of finite type are nondualizable if they are direct products of algebras of prime power order. We show that these results cannot be generalized to nilpotent algebras by giving an example of a group expansion of infinite type that is nilpotent and nonabelian, but dualizable. To our knowledge this is the first construction of a nonabelian nilpotent dualizable algebra. It has the curious property that all its nonabelian finitary reducts with group operation are nondualizable. We were able to prove dualizability by utilizing a new clone theoretic approach developed by Davey, Pitkethly, and Willard. Our results suggest that supernilpotence plays an important role in characterizing dualizability among Mal’cev algebras.

The homomorphic image of a congruence is always a tolerance (relation) but, within a given variety, a tolerance is not necessarily obtained this way. By a Maltsev-like condition, we characterise varieties whose tolerances are homomorphic images of their congruences (TImC). As corollaries, we prove that the variety of semilattices, all varieties of lattices, and all varieties of unary algebras have TImC. We show that a congruence n-permutable variety has TImC if and only if it is congruence permutable, and construct an idempotent variety with a majority term that fails TImC.

We give an explicit description of the free objects in the quasivariety of adequate semigroups, as sets of labelled directed trees under a natural combinatorial multiplication. The morphisms of the free adequate semigroup onto the free ample semigroup and into the free inverse semigroup are realised by a combinatorial ‘folding’ operation which transforms our trees into Munn trees. We use these results to show that free adequate semigroups and monoids are 𝒥-trivial and never finitely generated as semigroups, and that those which are finitely generated as (2,1,1)-algebras have decidable word problem.

We devise a fairly general sufficient condition ensuring that the endomorphism monoid of a countably infinite ultrahomogeneous structure (i.e. a Fraïssé limit) embeds all countable semigroups. This approach not only provides us with a framework unifying the previous scattered results in this vein, but actually yields new applications for endomorphism monoids of the (rational) Urysohn space and the countable universal ultrahomogeneous semilattice.

Recent research of the author has studied edge-labelled directed trees under a natural multiplication operation. The class of all such trees (with a fixed labelling alphabet) has an algebraic interpretation, as a free object in the class of adequate semigroups. We consider here a natural subclass of these trees, defined by placing a restriction on edge orientations, and show that the resulting algebraic structure is a free object in the class of left adequate semigroups. Through this correspondence we establish some structural and algorithmic properties of free left adequate semigroups and monoids, and consequently of the category of all left adequate semigroups.

For an algebraic structure A denote by d(A) the smallest size of a generating set for A, and let d(A)=(d(A),d(A2),d(A3),…), where An denotes a direct power of A. In this paper we investigate the asymptotic behaviour of the sequence d(A) when A is one of the classical structures—a group, ring, module, algebra or Lie algebra. We show that if A is finite then d(A) grows either linearly or logarithmically. In the infinite case constant growth becomes another possibility; in particular, if A is an infinite simple structure belonging to one of the above classes then d(A) is eventually constant. Where appropriate we frame our exposition within the general theory of congruence permutable varieties.

We show that if A is a stable basis algebra satisfying the distributivity condition, then B is a reduct of an independence algebra A having the same rank. If this rank is finite, then the endomorphism monoid of B is a left order in the endomorphism monoid of A.

This paper establishes a duality between the category of polytopes (finitely generated real convex sets considered as barycentric algebras) and a certain category of intersections of hypercubes, considered as barycentric algebras with additional constant operations.

In the general context of ideals in universal algebras, we study varietal properties connected with ideals that are equivalent both to Ma'cev conditions and congruence properties such as 0-regularity, 0-permutability, etc.

In this paper we investigate near-rings of polynomials and polynomial functions. After some results which belong to universal algebra we turn our attention to the familiar case of polynomials and polynomial functions over a commutative ring with identity. We study the relation between ring- and near-ring homomorphisms, and the behaviour of polynomial near-rings when the ring splits into a direct sum. A discussion of the structure of these polynomial near-rings (radical, semisimplicity) finishes this paper. These investigations are motivated by Clay and Doi (1973).

A strong, natural duality is established for the variety by a dihedral gruop of order 2m with m odd. This is the first natural duality for a non-abelian variety of groups.

In this note a characterization of semigroups with atomistic consruence lattices, given for weakly reductive semigroups, is generalized to arbitrary semigroups. Also, it is shown that there is a complete congruence on the congruence lattice of such a semigroup that decomposes it into a disjoint union of intervals of the partition lattice.