$\aleph_0$-categoricity of semigroups

Abstract

In this paper we initiate the study of $\aleph_0$-categorical semigroups, where a countable semigroup $S$ is $\aleph_0$-categorical if, for any natural number $n$, the action of its group of automorphisms Aut $S$ on $S^n$ has only finitely many orbits. We show that $\aleph_0$-categoricity transfers to certain important substructures such as maximal subgroups and principal factors. We examine the relationship between $\aleph_0$-categoricity and a number of semigroup and monoid constructions, namely direct sums, 0-direct unions, semidirect products and $\mathcal{P}$-semigroups. As a corollary, we determine the $\aleph_0$-categoricity of an $E$-unitary inverse semigroup with finite semilattice of idempotents in terms of that of the maximal group homomorphic image.