Are there any examples of commutative rings that do not occur as direct limits of Noetherian rings?
1 Answer
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Every commutative ring is the directed colimit of its subrings that are finitely generated as $\mathbb{Z}$-algebras. The Hilbert Basis Theorem implies that these subrings are noetherian. Actually this method is used in EGA IV, §8.9 to generalize some theorems from noetherian schemes to more general schemes.
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1$\begingroup$ Should "of its subrings" be replaced by something like "of its finitely-generated subrings"? Surely you meant the compact elements of the lattice of subrings, not the entire lattice? $\endgroup$ Commented Nov 12, 2011 at 13:21
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2$\begingroup$ Not that I am well placed to make such remarks, but I believe at least some would say that (then) 'which' should be 'that' (to signal the restrictive nature of the clause). $\endgroup$– user9072Commented Nov 12, 2011 at 14:45
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$\begingroup$ Oh, it was a linguistic issue, not a mathematical one. You meant "directed colimit of those subrings which are finitely generated as $\mathbb{Z}$-algebras", not "directed colimits of all subrings, which by the way are finitely generated as $\mathbb{Z}$-algebras. $\endgroup$ Commented Nov 12, 2011 at 16:22
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$\begingroup$ @MartinBrandenburg where can I find a copy of EGA IV §8.9? $\endgroup$– ArrowCommented Nov 22, 2015 at 11:21
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1$\begingroup$ @Arrow: At your library, perhaps? $\endgroup$ Commented Nov 22, 2015 at 12:14