Ideal Structure of the Kauffman and Related Monoids

Abstract

The generators of the Temperley-Lieb algebra generate a monoid with an appealing geometric representation. It has been much studied, notably by Louis Kauffman. Borisavljević, Došen, and Petrić gave a complete proof of its abstract presentation by generators and relations, and suggested the name “Kauffman monoid”. We bring the theory of semigroups to the study of a certain finite homomorphic image of the Kauffman monoid. We show the homomorphic image (the Jones monoid) to be a combinatorial and regular *-semigroup with linearly ordered ideals. The Kauffman monoid is explicitly described in terms of the Jones monoid and a purely combinatorial numerical function. We use this to describe the ideal structure of the Kauffman monoid and two other of its homomorphic images.