All Questions
6,053 questions
226
votes
4
answers
16k
views
A game on Noetherian rings
A friend suggested the following combinatorial game. At any time, the state of the game is a (commutative) Noetherian ring $\neq 0$. On a player's turn, that player chooses a nonzero non-unit element ...
- 148k
222
votes
8
answers
35k
views
How to memorise (understand) Nakayama's lemma and its corollaries?
Nakayama's lemma is mentioned in the majority of books on algebraic geometry that treat varieties. So I think Ihave read the formulation of this lemma at least 20 times (and read the proof maybe ...
- 14.3k
132
votes
3
answers
21k
views
When is the tensor product of two fields a field?
Consider two extension fields $K/k, L/k$ of a field $k$.
A frequent question is whether the tensor product ring $K\otimes_k L$ is a field. The answer is "no" and this answer is often ...
120
votes
5
answers
13k
views
What do epimorphisms of (commutative) rings look like?
(Background: In any category, an epimorphism is a morphism $f:X\to Y$ which is "surjective" in the following sense: for any two morphisms $g,h:Y\to Z$, if $g\circ f=h\circ f$, then $g=h$. Roughly, "...
114
votes
2
answers
12k
views
How would you solve this tantalizing Halmos problem?
$1-ab$ invertible $\implies$ $1-ba$ invertible has a slick power series "proof" as below, where Halmos asks for an explanation of why this tantalizing derivation succeeds. Do you know one?
Geometric ...
- 4,736
111
votes
0
answers
17k
views
A proof of $\dim(R[T])=\dim(R)+1$ without prime ideals?
Please read this first before answering. This question is only concerned with a proof of the dimension formula using the Coquand-Lombardi characterization below. If you post something that doesn't ...
- 63.1k
101
votes
31
answers
29k
views
Errata for Atiyah–Macdonald
Is there a good list of errata for Atiyah–Macdonald available? A cursory Google search reveals a laughably short list here, with just a few typos. Is there any source available online which lists ...
95
votes
11
answers
6k
views
Can a non-surjective polynomial map from an infinite field to itself miss only finitely many points?
Is there an infinite field $k$ together with a polynomial $f \in k[x]$ such that the associated map $f \colon k \to k$ is not surjective but misses only finitely many elements in $k$ (i.e. only ...
- 2,600
84
votes
31
answers
70k
views
Applications of the Chinese remainder theorem
As the title suggests I am interested in CRT applications. Wikipedia article on CRT lists some of the well known applications (e.g. used in the RSA algorithm, used to construct an elegant Gödel ...
78
votes
12
answers
12k
views
Why aren't representations of monoids studied so much?
It seems to me like every book on representation theory leaps into groups right away, even though the underlying ideas, such as representations, convolution algebras, etc. don't really make explicit ...
- 2,392
78
votes
9
answers
26k
views
Irreducibility of polynomials in two variables
Let $k$ be a field. I am interested in sufficient criteria for $f \in k[x,y]$ to be irreducible. An example is Theorem A of this paper (Brindza and Pintér, On the irreducibility of some polynomials in ...
- 30.5k
78
votes
5
answers
14k
views
Is there a "geometric" intuition underlying the notion of normal varieties?
I first got concious of the notion of normal varieties around 3 years ago and despite the fact that by now I can manipulate with it a bit, this notion still puzzles me a lot.
One thing that strikes me ...
- 14.3k
75
votes
9
answers
17k
views
Why is an elliptic curve a group?
Consider an elliptic curve $y^2=x^3+ax+b$. It is well known that we can (in the generic case) create an addition on this curve turning it into an abelian group: The group law is characterized by the ...
- 9,366
74
votes
1
answer
6k
views
$R$ is isomorphic to $R[X,Y]$, but not to $R[X]$
Is there a commutative ring $R$ with $R \cong R[X,Y]$ and $R \not\cong R[X]$?
This is a ring-theoretic analog of my previous question about abelian groups: In fact, in any algebraic category we may ...
- 63.1k
74
votes
3
answers
7k
views
Is there a "purely algebraic" proof of the finiteness of the class number?
The background is as follows: I have been whittling away at my commutative algebra notes (or, rather at commutative algebra itself, I suppose) recently for the occasion of a course I will be teaching ...
- 65.4k
72
votes
14
answers
22k
views
Elementary / Interesting proofs of the Nullstellensatz
Is there an easy proof of the Nullstellensatz that avoids the standard Noether-normalization techniques?
One proof I know proves first the 'weak' Nullstellensatz which ensures that maximal ideals ...
71
votes
11
answers
9k
views
How to introduce notions of flat, projective and free modules?
In the coming spring semester I will be teaching for the first time an introductory (graduate) course in Commutative Algebra. As many people know, I have been plugging away for a while at this ...
- 65.4k
70
votes
2
answers
9k
views
What is the insight of Quillen's proof that all projective modules over a polynomial ring are free?
One of the more misleadingly difficult theorems in mathematics is that all finitely generated projective modules over a polynomial ring are free. It involves some of the most basic notions in ...
- 44.7k
65
votes
4
answers
22k
views
When is the product of two ideals equal to their intersection?
Consider a ring $A$ and an affine scheme $X=\operatorname{Spec}A$ . Given two ideals $I$ and $J$ and their associated subschemes $V(I)$ and $V(J)$, we know that the intersection $I\cap J$ corresponds ...
- 914
62
votes
5
answers
10k
views
Does "finitely presented" mean "always finitely presented"? (Answered: Yes!)
Precisely, if an R-module M has a finite presentation, and Rk → M is some unrelated surjection (k finite), is the kernel necessarily also finitely generated?
Basically I want to believe I can ...
- 11.3k
59
votes
4
answers
12k
views
Geometric meaning of Cohen-Macaulay schemes
What is the geometric meaning of Cohen-Macaulay schemes?
Of course they are important in duality theory for coherent sheaves, behave in many ways like regular schemes, and are closed under various ...
- 63.1k
56
votes
2
answers
5k
views
A condition that implies commutativity
Let $R$ be a ring. A notable theorem of N. Jacobson states that if the identity $x^{n}=x$ holds for every $x \in R$ and a fixed $n \geq 2$ then $R$ is a commutative ring.
The proof of the result for ...
- 8,842
55
votes
5
answers
3k
views
Bizarre operation on polynomials
There I was, innocently doing some category theory, when up popped a totally outlandish operation on polynomials. It seems outlandish to me, anyway. I'd like to know if anyone has seen this ...
- 27.7k
54
votes
8
answers
58k
views
Modern algebraic geometry vs. classical algebraic geometry
Can anyone offer advice on roughly how much commutative algebra, homological algebra etc. one needs to know to do research in (or to learn) modern algebraic geometry. Would you need to be familiar ...
54
votes
10
answers
16k
views
Rings in which every non-unit is a zero divisor
Is there a special name for the class of (commutative) rings in which every non-unit is a zero divisor? The main example is $\mathbf{Z}/(n)$. Are there other natural or interesting examples?
- 3,022
53
votes
9
answers
13k
views
Is there a preferable convention for defining the wedge product?
There are different conventions for defininig the wedge product $\wedge$.
In Kobayashi-Nomizu, there is $\alpha\wedge\beta:=Alt(\alpha\otimes\beta)$,
in Spivak, we find $\alpha\wedge\beta:=\frac{(k+l)...
- 4,306
53
votes
3
answers
6k
views
Is it true that, as $\Bbb Z$-modules, the polynomial ring and the power series ring over integers are dual to each other?
Is it true that, in the category of $\mathbb{Z}$-modules, $\operatorname{Hom}_{\mathbb{Z}}(\mathbb{Z}[x],\mathbb{Z})\cong\mathbb{Z}[[x]]$ and $\operatorname{Hom}_{\mathbb{Z}}(\mathbb{Z}[[x]],\mathbb{Z}...
- 1,742
53
votes
2
answers
8k
views
Is primary decomposition still important?
On p.50 of Atiyah and Macdonald's Introduction to Commutative Algebra, in the introduction to the chapter on primary decomposition, it says
In the modern treatment, with its
emphasis on ...
- 15.4k
52
votes
3
answers
5k
views
What the heck is the Continuum Hypothesis doing in Weibel's Homological Algebra?
On page 98 of Weibel's An Introduction to Homological Algebra he mentions that the ring $R = \prod_{i=1}^\infty \mathbb{C}$ has global dimension $\geq 2$ with equality iff the continuum hypothesis ...
- 30.3k
52
votes
7
answers
8k
views
"Algebraic" topologies like the Zariski topology?
The fact that a commutative ring has a natural topological space associated with it is still a really interesting coincidence. The entire subject of Algebraic geometry is based on this simple fact.
...
52
votes
2
answers
7k
views
Ring-theoretic characterization of open affines?
Background
Recall that, given two commutative rings $A$ and $B$, the set of morphisms of rings $A\to B$ is in bijection with the set of morphisms of schemes $\mathrm{Spec}(B)\to\mathrm{Spec}(A)$. ...
- 5,407
52
votes
2
answers
4k
views
a categorical Nakayama lemma?
There are the following Nakayama style lemmata:
(the classical Nakayama lemma) Let $R$ be a commutative ring with $1$ and $M$ a finitely generated $R$-module. If $m_1, \ldots, m_n$ generate $M$ ...
user19475
52
votes
7
answers
5k
views
What does a projective resolution mean geometrically?
For R a commutative ring and M an R-module, we can always find a projective resolution of M which replaces M by a sequence of projective R-modules. But as R is commutative, we can consider the affine ...
- 1,056
52
votes
1
answer
1k
views
Is there a notion of polynomial ring in "one half variable"?
Let $C$ be the category of commutative rings.
Is there a functor $F :C \to C$ such that $F(F(R)) \cong R[X]$ for every commutative ring $R$ ?
(Here, we may assume those isomorphisms to be natural ...
- 1,742
51
votes
3
answers
3k
views
Is each squared finite group trivial?
A semigroup $S$ is defined to be squared if there exists a subset $A\subseteq S$ such that the function $A\times A\to S$, $(x,y)\mapsto xy$, is bijective.
Problem: Is each squared finite group ...
- 41.9k
50
votes
0
answers
2k
views
How many algebraic closures can a field have?
Assuming the axiom of choice given a field $F$, there is an algebraic extension $\overline F$ of $F$ which is algebraically closed. Moreover, if $K$ is a different algebraic extension of $F$ which is ...
- 39.8k
49
votes
14
answers
21k
views
Applications of the Cayley-Hamilton theorem
The Cayley-Hamilton theorem is usually presented in standard undergraduate courses in linear algebra as an important result. Recall that it says that any square matrix is a "root" of its own ...
49
votes
4
answers
4k
views
Why is there a duality between spaces and commutative algebras?
1) The category of affine varieties over $\mathbb{C}$ is equivalent to the opposite category of finitely generated reduced algebras over $\mathbb{C}$. The equivalence associates to an affine variety ...
- 9,481
48
votes
4
answers
4k
views
Are there more Nullstellensätze?
Over which fields $k$ is there a reasonable analogue of Hilbert's Nullstellensatz?
Here is a more precise formulation: let $k$ be an arbitrary field, $n$ a positive integer, and $R = k[t_1,..,t_n]$. ...
- 65.4k
47
votes
5
answers
4k
views
Is the determinant equal to a determinant?
Let $\det_d = \det((x_{i,j})_{1 \leq i,j\leq d})$ be the determinant of a generic $d \times d$ matrix. Suppose $k \mid d$, $1 < k < d$. Can $\det_d$ be written as the determinant of a $k \times ...
- 6,237
47
votes
2
answers
5k
views
Why do we care whether a PID admits some crazy Euclidean norm?
An integral domain $R$ is said to be Euclidean if it admits some Euclidean norm: i.e., a function $N: R \rightarrow \mathbb{N} = \mathbb{Z}^{\geq 0}$ such that: for all $x, y \in R$ with $N(y) > 0$,...
- 65.4k
47
votes
1
answer
1k
views
Summing infinitely many infinitesimally small variables makes sense in algebra
There is an identity $e^x=\lim_{n\to \infty} (1+x/n)^n$, and I always thought it is a purely analytic statement. But then I discovered its curious interpretation in pure algebra:
Consider the ring of ...
- 3,772
46
votes
4
answers
8k
views
What does "linearly disjoint" mean for abstract field extensions?
All definitions I've seen for the statement "$E,F$ are linearly disjoint extensions of $k$" are only meaningful when $E,F$ are given as subfields of a larger field, say $K$. I am happy with the ...
- 11.3k
46
votes
0
answers
1k
views
Enriched Categories: Ideals/Submodules and algebraic geometry
While working through Atiyah/MacDonald for my final exams I realized the following:
The category(poset) of ideals $I(A)$ of a commutative ring A is a closed symmetric monoidal category if endowed ...
- 3,249
45
votes
8
answers
6k
views
What makes a theorem *a* "nullstellensatz."
I know what the (Hilbert) Nullstellensatz says. A MathSciNet search on "nullstellensatz" turns up nearly 200 papers, with only a minority offering either new proofs or new applications of the classic ...
45
votes
5
answers
4k
views
How to think about CM rings?
There are a few questions about CM rings and depth.
Why would one consider the concept of depth? Is there any geometric meaning associated to that? The consideration of regular sequence is okay to me....
user709
45
votes
2
answers
3k
views
Categorical definition of the ideal product within the category of rings
This is an extension of this question. Let $I,J$ be ideals of a ring $R$; every ring is commutative and unital here. Is it possible to define $R \to R/(I*J)$ out of $R \to R/I$ and $R \to R/J$ in ...
- 63.1k
44
votes
4
answers
3k
views
Do rings of smooth functions differ from rings of continuous functions?
Let $M$, $N$ be connected nondiscrete compact smooth manifolds. Can the ring of continuous functions on $M$ be isomorphic to the ring of smooth functions on $N$?
- 6,962
44
votes
5
answers
6k
views
What is the cotangent complex good for?
The cotangent complex seems to be a pretty fundamental object in algebraic geometry, but if it's treated in Hartshorne then I missed it. It seems to be even more important in derived algebraic ...
- 63.9k
44
votes
4
answers
12k
views
Classification of finite commutative rings
Is there a classification of finite commutative rings available?
If not, what are the best structure theorem that are known at present?
All I know is a result that every finite commutative ring is a ...
- 2,216