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String rewriting systems and associated finiteness conditions

We begin with an introduction which describes the thesis in detail, and then a preliminary chapter in which we discuss rewriting systems, associated complexes and finiteness conditions. In particular, we recall the graph of derivations r and the 2- complex V associated to any rewriting system, and the related geometric finiteness conditions F DT and F HT. In §1.4 we give basic definitions and results about finite complete rewriting systems, that is, rewriting systems which rewrite any word in a finite number of steps to its normal form, the unique irreducible word in its congruence class. The main work of the thesis begins in Chapter 2 with some discussion of rewriting systems for groups which are confluent on the congruence class containing the empty word. In §2.1 we characterize groups admitting finite A-complete rewriting systems as those with a A-Dehn presentation, and in §2.2 we give some examples of finite rewriting systems for groups which are A-complete but not complete. For the remainder of the thesis, we study how the properties of finite complete rewriting systems which are discussed in the first chapter are mirrored in higher dimensions. In Chapter 3 we extend the 2-complex V to form a new 3-complex VP, and in Chapter 4 we define new finiteness conditions F DT2 and F HT2 based on the homotopy and homology of this complex. In §4.4 we show that if a monoid admits a finite complete rewriting system, then it is of type F DT2 • The final chapter contains a discussion of alternative ways to define such higher dimensional finiteness conditions. This leads to the introduction, in §5.2, of a variant of the Guba-Sapir homotopy reduction system which can be associated to any co~­ plete rewriting system. This is a rewriting system operating on paths in r, and is complete in the sense that it rewrites paths in a finite number of steps to a unique "normal form".

Identiferoai:union.ndltd.org:bl.uk/oai:ethos.bl.uk:392606
Date January 2002
CreatorsMcGlashan, S.
PublisherUniversity of Glasgow
Source SetsEthos UK
Detected LanguageEnglish
TypeElectronic Thesis or Dissertation
Sourcehttp://theses.gla.ac.uk/6190/

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