Abstract

Abstract. In this paper we study first-order definability in the lattice of equational theories of commutative semigroups. In a series of papers, J. Jeˇzek, solving problems posed by A. Tarski and R. McKenzie, has proved, in particular, that each equational theory is first-order definable in the lattice of equational theories of a given type, up to automorphism, and that such lattices have no automorphisms besides the obvious syntactically defined ones (with exceptions for special unary types). He has proved also that the most important classes of theories of a given type are so definable. In a later paper, Jeˇzek and McKenzie have “almost proved ” the same facts for the lattice of equational theories of semigroups. There were good reasons to believe that the same can be proved for the lattice of equational theories of commutative semigroups. In this paper, however, we show that the case of commutative semigroups is different. 1.

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