Iterated periodicity over finite aperiodic semigroups

Abstract

This paper provides a characterization of pseudowords over the pseudovariety of all finite aperiodic semigroups that can be described from the free generators using only the operations of multiplication and omega-power. A necessary and sufficient condition for this property to hold turns out to be given by the conjunction of two rather simple finiteness conditions: the nonexistence of infinite anti-chains of factors and the rationality of the language of McCammond normal forms of omega-terms that define factors of the given pseudoword. The relationship between pseudowords with this property and arbitrary pseudowords is also investigated.