Invariance groups of functions and related Galois connections

Invariance groups of sets of Boolean functions can be characterized as Galois closures of a suitable Galois connection. We consider such groups in a much more general context using group actions of an abstract group and arbitrary functions instead of Boolean ones. We characterize the Galois closures for both sides of the corresponding Galois connection and apply the results to known group actions.

CONTENT AND SINGLETONS BRING UNIQUE IDENTIFICATION MINORS

A new class of functions with a unique identification minor is introduced: functions determined by content and singletons. Relationships between this class and other known classes of functions with a unique identification minor are investigated. Some properties of functions determined by content and singletons are established, especially concerning invariance groups and similarity.

Invariance groups of finite functions and orbit equivalence of permutation groups

Which subgroups of the symmetric group Sn arise as invariance groups of n-variable functions defined on a k-element domain? It appears that the higher the difference n-k, the more difficult it is to answer this question. For k ≤ n, the answer is easy: all subgroups of Sn are invariance groups. We give a complete answer in the cases k = n-1 and k = n-2, and we also give a partial answer in the general case: we describe invariance groups when n is much larger than n-k. The proof utilizes Galois connections and the corresponding closure operators on Sn, which turn out to provide a generalization of orbit equivalence of permutation groups. We also present some computational results, which show that all primitive groups except for the alternating groups arise as invariance groups of functions defined on a three-element domain.