In recent years, it has become increasingly clear that there are important connections relating three concepts -- groupoids, inverse semigroups, and operator algebras. There has been a great deal of progress in this area over the last two decades, and this book gives a careful, up-to-date and reasonably extensive account of the subject matter. After an introductory first chapter, the second chapter presents a self-contained account of inverse semigroups, locally compact and r-discrete groupoids, and Lie groupoids. The section on Lie groupoids in chapter 2 contains a detailed discussion of groupoids particularly important in noncommutative geometry, including the holonomy groupoids of a foliated manifold and the tangent groupoid of a manifold. The representation theories of locally compact and r-discrete groupoids are developed in the third chapter, and it is shown that the C*-algebras of r-discrete groupoids are the covariance C*-algebras for inverse semigroup actions on locally compact Hausdorff spaces. A final chapter associates a universal r-discrete groupoid with any inverse semigroup. Six subsequent appendices treat topics related to those covered in the text. The book should appeal to a wide variety of professional mathematicians and graduate students in fields such as operator algebras, analysis on groupoids, semigroup theory, and noncommutative geometry. It will also be of interest to mathematicians interested in tilings and theoretical physicists whose focus is modeling quasicrystals with tilings. An effort has been made to make the book lucid and 'user friendly"; thus it should be accessible to any reader with a basic background in measure theory and functional analysis.

Symmetry is one of the most important organising principles in the natural sciences. The mathematical theory of symmetry has long been associated with group theory, but it is a basic premise of this book that there are aspects of symmetry which are more faithfully represented by a generalization of groups called inverse semigroups. The theory of inverse semigroups is described from its origins in the foundations of differential geometry through to its most recent applications in combinatorial group theory, and the theory tilings. Contents:Introduction to Inverse SemigroupsExtending Partial SymmetriesThe Natural Partial OrderOrdered GroupoidsExtensions of Inverse SemigroupsFree Inverse SemigroupsE-unitary Inverse SemigroupsEnlargements0-E-unitary Inverse SemigroupsCategory Actions and Inverse Semigroups Readership: Mathematicians, and students of symmetry in the physical sciences. keywords:Semigroup Theory;Inverse Semigroup Theory;Category Theory;Groupoids;Ordered Groupoids;Cateory Actions;Symmetry;Partial Symmetry;Pseudogroups;Topological Groupoids “… this volume represents an outstanding contribution to the field. The resolute graduate student or mature researcher, alike, can find a wealth of directions for future work.” Mathematical Reviews

The construction of a C∗-algebra from a locally compact groupoid is an important generalization of the group C∗-algebra construction and of the transformation group C∗-algebra construction. Since their introduction in 1980, groupoid C∗-algebras have been intensively studied with diverse applications, including graph algebras, classification theory, variations on the Baum-Connes conjecture, and noncommutative geometry. This book provides a detailed introduction to this vast subject and is suitable for graduate students or any researcher who wants to use groupoid C∗-algebras in their work. The main focus is to equip the reader with modern versions of the basic technical tools used in the subject, which will allow the reader to understand fundamental results and make contributions to various areas in the subject. Thus, in addition to covering the basic properties and construction of groupoid C∗-algebras, the focus is to give a modern treatment of some of the major developments in the subject in recent years, including the Equivalence Theorem and the Disintegration Theorem. Also covered are the complicated subjects of amenability of groupoids and simplicity results. The book is reasonably self-contained and accessible to graduate students with a good background in operator algebras.

The theories of V. V. Wagner (1908-1981) on abstractions of systems of binary relations are presented here within their historical and mathematical contexts. This book contains the first translation from Russian into English of a selection of Wagner’s papers, the ideas of which are connected to present-day mathematical research. Along with a translation of Wagner’s main work in this area, his 1953 paper ‘Theory of generalised heaps and generalised groups,’ the book also includes translations of three short precursor articles that provide additional context for his major work. Researchers and students interested in both algebra (in particular, heaps, semiheaps, generalised heaps, semigroups, and groups) and differential geometry will benefit from the techniques offered by these translations, owing to the natural connections between generalised heaps and generalised groups, and the role played by these concepts in differential geometry. This book gives examples from present-day mathematics where ideas related to Wagner’s have found fruitful applications.

The book offers a comprehensive introduction to Leavitt path algebras (LPAs) and graph C*-algebras. Highlighting their significant connection with classical K-theory—which plays an important role in mathematics and its related emerging fields—this book allows readers from diverse mathematical backgrounds to understand and appreciate these structures. The articles on LPAs are mostly of an expository nature and the ones dealing with K-theory provide new proofs and are accessible to interested students and beginners of the field. It is a useful resource for graduate students and researchers working in this field and related areas, such as C*-algebras and symbolic dynamics.