Embeddability and the word problem

Abstract

Let be a finitely presented variety with operations Ω and let be the variety having the same set of operations Ω but defined by the empty set of identities. A partial-algebra is a set P with a set of mappings containing for each n-ary operation f of Ω a mapping , where D ⊆ Pn. An incomplete -algebra is a partial -algebra which satisfies the defining identities of , insofar as they can be applied to the partial operations of (Trevor Evans [4, p. 67]). We call an incomplete -algebra a partial Evans-algebra if it can be embedded in a member of the variety .If the class of all partial Evans -algebras is (first-order) finitely axiomatizable, then the word problem for the variety is solvable. (Evans [4, 5]). In 1953 Evans [5, p. 79] raised the question of whether the converse is true. In this paper we show that the answer is in the negative.Let CSg denote the variety of commutative semigroups. We call an incomplete CSg-algebra an incomplete commutative semigroup and we call a partial Evans CSg-algebra a partial Evans commutative semigroup. It is known (A. I. Malcev [9] see also Evans [6]) that the variety of commutative semigroups has solvable word problem. We show (Theorem 1) that the class of all partial Evans commutative semigroups is not finitely axiomatizable. Therefore the solvability of the word problem for the variety of commutative semigroups does not imply finite axiomatizability of the class of all partial Evans commutative semigroups.