F\o{}lner, Banach, and translation density are equal and other new results about density in left amenable semigroups

TL;DR

This paper proves the equivalence of three density notions in semigroups satisfying the Strong Folner Condition, solves a long-standing problem about ultrafilters, and explores density properties in various classes of semigroups.

Contribution

It establishes the equality of Folner, Banach, and translation densities for all semigroups with the Strong Folner Condition and solves a decades-old problem regarding ultrafilters with positive density.

Findings

The three density notions coincide under the Strong Folner Condition.

Ultrafilters with positive Folner density form a two-sided ideal of βS.

Density properties are characterized in semigroups with singleton minimal left ideals.

Abstract

In any semigroup $S$ satisfying the Strong Folner Condition, there are three natural notions of density for a subset $A$ of $S$: Folner density $d(A)$, Banach density $d^*(A)$, and translation density $d_t(A)$. If $S$ is commutative or left cancellative, it is known that these three notions coincide. We shall show that these notions coincide for every semigroup $S$ which satisfies the Strong Folner Condition. Using this fact, we solve a problem that has been open for decades, showing that the set of ultrafilters every member of which has positive Folner density is a two sided ideal of $\beta S$. We also show that, if $S$ is a left amenable semigroup, then the set of ultrafilters every member of which has positive Banach density is a two sided ideal of $\beta S$. We investigate the density properties of subsets of $S$ in the case in which the minimal left ideals of the Stone-\v{C}ech compactification $\beta S$ are singletons. This occurs in many familiar examples, including all semilattices and all semigroups which have a right zero. We show that this is equivalent to the statement that $S$ satisfies the Strong Folner Condition and that, for every subset $A$ of $S$, $d(A)\in \{0,1\}$. We also examine the relation between the density properties of two semigroups when one is a quotient of the other. The Folner density of a subset of $S$ is always determined by some Folner net in $S$. We show that an arbitrary Folner net in $S$ determines the density of all of the subsets of $S$. And we prove that, if $S$ and $T$ are left amenable semigroups, then $d^*(A\times B)=d^*(A)d^*(B)$ for every subset $A$ of $S$ and every subset $B$ of $T$.