In this paper we investigate subtractive varieties of algebras that are congruence quasi-orderable. Though this concept has its origin in abstract algebraic logic, it seems to be worth investigating in a purely algebraic fashion. Besides clarifying the algebraic meaning of this notion, we obtain several structure theorems about such varieties. Also several examples are provided to illustrate the theory.

An inverse semigroup S is said to be meet (join) semidistributive if its lattice (S) of full inverse subsemigroups is meet (join) semidistributive. We show that every meet (join) semidistributive inverse semigroup is in fact distributive.

As a sequel to the previous two papers of the second author, we investigate the structure of medial idempotent groupoids by Pn-sequences. To complete the series of research, this paper has theree purposes. First, we summarize some results in the previous papers so that this paper can cover the materials presented there. Secondly, using earlier results, we prove a few theorems which show the importance of the medial law in controlling the growth of Pn-sequences of groupoids. Finally, we state some problems and conjectures raised during the series of research.

A group A is said to be endoprimal if its term functions are precisely the functions which permute with all endomorphisms of A. In this paper we describe endoprimal groups in the following three classes of abelian groups: torsion groups, torsionfree groups of rank at most 2, direct sums of a torsion group and a torsionfree group of rank 1.

It is shown that a variety ν has distributive congruence lattices if and only if the intersection of two principal congruence relations is definable by equations involving terms with parameters. The nature of the terms involved then provides a useful classification of congruence distributive varieties. In particular, the classification puts into proper perspective two stronger properties. A variety is said to have the Principal Intersection Property if the intersection of any two principal congruence relations is principal, or the Compact Intersection Property if the intersection of two compact congruence relations is compact. For non-congruence-distributive varieties, it is shown that some useful constuctions are nevertheless possible.

The main results of the paper are the following: 1. Every locally finite affine complete variety admits a near unanimity term; 2. A locally finite congruence distributive variety is affine complete if and only if all its algebras with no proper subalgebras are affine complete and the variety is generated by one of such algebras. The first of these results sharpens a result of McKenzie asserting that all locally finite affine complete varieties are congruence distributive. The second one generalizes the result by Kaarli and Pixley that characterizes arithmetical affine complete varieties.

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 final contribution to the investigation of commutator laws in groups, we answer some of the questions left open in the previous two papers. The principal result is the independence of the Jacobi-Witt-Hall type laws from the so-called standard set of laws. The main results of the earlier papers are summarised. An interlude corrects some of the numerous printing errors in the second of our papers.

The free product *CRSi of an arbitrary family of disjoint completely simple semigroups {Si}i∈i, within the variety CR of completely regular semigroups, is described by means of a theorem generalizing that of Kaďourek and Polák for free completely regular semigroups. A notable consequence of the description is that all maximal subgroups of *CRSi are free, except for those in the factors Si themselves. The general theorem simplifies in the case of free CR-products of groups and, in particular, free idempotent-generated completely regular semigroups.

We consider a variety of algebras with two binary commutative and associative operations. For each integer n ≥ 0, we represent the partitions on an n-element set as n-ary terms in the variety. We determine necessary and sufficient conditions on the variety ensuring that, for each n, these representing terms be all the essentially n-ary terms and moreover that distinct partitions yield distinct terms.

We conjecture that five well-known identities universally satisfied by commutators in a group generate all such universal commutator identies. We use homological techniques to partially prove the conjecture.

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 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.

The lattice of all complete congruence relations of a complete lattice is itself a complete lattice. In an earlier paper, we characterize this lattice as a complete lattice. Let m be an uncountable regular cardinal. The lattice L of all m-complete congruence relations of an m-complete lattice K is an m-algebraic lattice; if K is bounded, then the unit element of L is m-compact. Our main result is the converse statement: For an m-algebraic lattice L with an m-compact unit element, we construct a bounded m-complete lattice K such that L is isomorphic to the lattice of m-complete congruence relations of K. In addition, if L has more than one element, then we show how to construct K so that it will also have a prescribed automorphism group. On the way to the main result, we prove a technical theorem, the One Point Extension Theorem, which is also used to provide a new proof of the earlier result.

The structure of semigroups with atomistic congruence lattices (that is, each congruence is the supremum of the atoms it contains) is studied. For the weakly reductive case the problem of describing the structure of such semigroups is solved up to simple and congruence free semigroups, respectively. As applications, all commutative, finite, completely semisimple semigroups, respectively, with atomistic congruence lattices are described.

We prove that every finite, simple, surjective algebra having no proper subalgebras is either quasiprimal or affine or isomorphic to an algebra term equivalent to a matrix power of a unary permutational algebra. Consequently, it generates a minimal variety if and only if it is quasiprimal. We show also that a locally finite, minimal variety omitting type 1 is minimal as a quasivariety if and only if it has a unique subdirectly irreducible algebra.

Starting with a class ℳ of Ω-groups, necessary and sufficient conditions on ℳ are given to ensure that the corresponding Hoehnke radical ρ (determined by the subdirect closure of ℳ as semisimple class) is a radical in the sense of Kurosh and Amitsur; has a hereditary semisimple class; satisfies the ADS-property; has a hereditary radical class or satisfies ρN ∩ I ⊆ ρI and lastly, have both a hereditary radical and semisimple class or satisfies ρN ∩ I = ρI.

We prove that every locally finite, congruence modular, minimal variety is minimal as a quasivariety. We also construct all finite, strictly simple algebras generating a congruence distributive variety, such that the sett of unary term perations forms a group. Lastly, these results are applied to a problem in algebraic logic to give a sufficient condition for a deductive system to be structurally complete.

There are some well-known laws that the commutator satisfies in groups, and that go by some or all of the names Jacobi, Witt, Hall; and there are also some lesser-known laws. This is an attempt at an axiomatic study of the interdependence and independence of these laws.

An inverse semigroup S is said to be modular if its lattice 𝓛𝓕 (S) of inverse subsemigroups is modular. We show that it is sufficient to study simple inverse semigroups which are not groups. Our main theorem states that such a semigroup S is modular if and only if (I) S is combinatorial, (II) its semilattice E of idempotents is “Archimedean” in S, (III) its maximum group homomorphic image G is locally cyclic and (IV) the poset of idempotents of each 𝓓-class of S is either a chain or contains exactly one pair of incomparable elements, each of which is maximal. Thus in view of earlier results of the second author a simple modular inverse semigroup is “almost” distributive. The bisimple modular inverse semigroups are explicitly constructed. It is remarkable that exactly one of these is nondistributive.