A topological approach to a conjecture of Rhodes
Jean-Éric Pin · Bulletin of the Australian Mathematical Society · 1988
The “type II conjecture”, proposed by J. Rhodes, gives an algorithm to compute the kernel of a given finite semigroup. We show that this conjecture is a consequence of another conjecture, of a topological nature. This new conjecture gives a simple and effective characterisation of the recognisable subsets of a free monoid that are closed in the finite group topology for the free monoid.