Band (algebra)

In mathematics, a band (also called idempotent semigroup) is a semigroup in which every element is idempotent (in other words equal to its own square). Bands were first studied and named by A. H. Clifford (1954).

The lattice of varieties of bands was described independently in the early 1970s by Biryukov, Fennemore and Gerhard. Semilattices, left-zero bands, right-zero bands, rectangular bands, normal bands, left-regular bands, right-regular bands and regular bands are specific subclasses of bands that lie near the bottom of this lattice and which are of particular interest; they are briefly described below.