Invariant theory for the free left-regular band and a q-analogue

We examine from an invariant theory viewpoint the monoid algebras for two monoids having large symmetry groups. The first monoid is the free left-regular band on n letters, defined on the set of all injective words, that is, the words with at most one occurrence of each letter. This monoid carries the action of the symmetric group. The second monoid is one of its q-analogues, considered by K. Brown, carrying an action of the finite general linear group. In both cases, we show that the invariant subalgebras are semisimple commutative algebras, and characterize them using Stirling and q-Stirling numbers. We then use results from the theory of random walks and random-to-top shuffling to decompose the entire monoid algebra into irreducibles, simultaneously as a module over the invariant ring and as a group representation. Our irreducible decompositions are described in terms of derangement symmetric functions introduced by Désarménien and Wachs.