English

The Identity Problem in $\mathbb{Z} \wr \mathbb{Z}$ is decidable

Group Theory 2023-06-22 v4 Discrete Mathematics

Abstract

We consider semigroup algorithmic problems in the wreath product ZZ\mathbb{Z} \wr \mathbb{Z}. Our paper focuses on two decision problems introduced by Choffrut and Karhum\"{a}ki (2005): the Identity Problem (does a semigroup contain the neutral element?) and the Group Problem (is a semigroup a group?) for finitely generated sub-semigroups of ZZ\mathbb{Z} \wr \mathbb{Z}. We show that both problems are decidable. Our result complements the undecidability of the Semigroup Membership Problem (does a semigroup contain a given element?) in ZZ\mathbb{Z} \wr \mathbb{Z} shown by Lohrey, Steinberg and Zetzsche (ICALP 2013), and contributes an important step towards solving semigroup algorithmic problems in general metabelian groups.

Keywords

Cite

@article{arxiv.2302.05939,
  title  = {The Identity Problem in $\mathbb{Z} \wr \mathbb{Z}$ is decidable},
  author = {Ruiwen Dong},
  journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:2302.05939},
  year   = {2023}
}

Comments

ICALP'23, 25 pages

R2 v1 2026-06-28T08:38:06.693Z