All Questions
1,123 questions
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
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
64
votes
4
answers
8k
views
What is the current status of the Kaplansky zero-divisor conjecture for group rings?
Let $K$ be a field and $G$ a group. The so called zero-divisor conjecture for group rings asserts that the group ring $K[G]$ is a domain if and only if $G$ is a torsion-free group.
A couple of good ...
- 1,065
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
51
votes
1
answer
2k
views
Invertible matrices over noncommutative rings
Let $A\in M_m(R)$ be an invertible square matrix over a noncommutative ring $R$. Is the transpose matrix $A^t$ also invertible? If it isn't, are there any easy counterexamples?
The question popped up ...
- 2,941
47
votes
10
answers
6k
views
Algebraic theorems with no known algebraic proofs
What are some good examples of algebraic theorems that have no known algebraic proofs?
A few I know concern classifications of (not necessarily associative) division algebras over $\mathbb{R}$: the ...
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 ...
43
votes
8
answers
3k
views
How to quantify noncommutativity?
If I have two operators or finite-dimensional matrices $A$ and $B$, how can I quantify the amount to which they commute or don't commute? (I would consider it a big plus if it is computable easily for ...
- 1,890
42
votes
5
answers
4k
views
What are the main structure theorems on finitely generated commutative monoids?
I should read J. C. Rosales and P. A. García-Sánchez's book Finitely Generated Commutative Monoids and L. Redei's book The Theory of Finitely Generated Commutative Semigroups. I haven't. But here's ...
- 22.3k
41
votes
4
answers
2k
views
What is the probability two random maps on n symbols commute?
It is well known that two randomly chosen permutations of $n$ symbols commute with probability $p_n/n!$ where $p_n$ is the number of partitions of $n$. This is a special case of the fact that in a ...
- 38.6k
40
votes
9
answers
10k
views
Simplest examples of rings that are not isomorphic to their opposites
What are the simplest examples of
rings that are not isomorphic to their
opposite rings? Is there a science to constructing them?
The only simple example known to me:
In Jacobson's Basic Algebra (...
- 5,654
33
votes
0
answers
2k
views
Is there a (discrete) monoid M injecting into its group completion G for which BM is not homotopy equivalent to BG?
For a (discrete) monoid $M$, the classifying space $BM$ is the
geometric realization of the nerve of the one object category whose
hom-set is $M$. (This definition gives the usual classfiying space
...
- 5,309
32
votes
5
answers
9k
views
How many binary operations are associative?
Let $X$ be a finite set of $n$ elements, and consider a binary operation $\odot: X \times X \rightarrow X$. There are $n^{n^2}$ such binary operations, as the $n \times n$ table entries can each
be ...
- 151k
31
votes
2
answers
1k
views
How to make the Capelli's identity less mysterious?
The formulation of the Capelli's identity is very elementary; it has important applications in invariant theory and representation theory, see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capelli%27s_identity
To ...
- 21.8k
30
votes
6
answers
6k
views
Definition of an algebra over a noncommutative ring
I've tried in vain to find a definition of an algebra over a noncommutative ring. Does this algebraic structure not exist? In particular, does the following definition from http://en.wikipedia.org/...
- 3,184
30
votes
4
answers
3k
views
A mysterious Heisenberg algebra identity from Sylvester, 1867
I am trying to understand two papers by James Joseph Sylvester:
P92: "Note on the properties of the test operators which occur in the calculus of invariants, their derivatives, analogues, and laws of ...
- 33.8k
29
votes
1
answer
1k
views
Is the Golomb countable connected space topologically rigid?
The Golomb space $\mathbb G$ is the set of positive integers endowed with the topology generated by the base consisting of the arithmetic progressions $a+b\mathbb N_0$ with relatively prime $a,b$ and $...
- 41.9k
28
votes
5
answers
9k
views
Can a quotient ring R/J ever be flat over R?
If $R$ is a ring and $J\subset R$ is an ideal, can $R/J$ ever be a flat $R$-module? For algebraic geometers, the question is "can a closed immersion ever be flat?"
The answer is yes: take $J=...
27
votes
13
answers
4k
views
Homological algebra for commutative monoids?
Homological algebra for abelian groups is a standard tool in many fields of mathematics. How much carries over to the setting of commutative monoids (with unit)? It seems like there is a notion of ...
- 27.5k
26
votes
3
answers
2k
views
When does the converse to Schur's Lemma hold?
Let $R$ be a commutative ring, let $A$ be an $R$-algebra, and let $M$ be an $A$-module. If $M$ is simple, then End$_{A-mod}(M)$ is a division ring.
A common use is when $R$ is the complex numbers $\...
- 3,103
26
votes
3
answers
724
views
Subtraction-free identities that hold for rings but not for semirings?
Here is a concrete, if seemingly unmotivated, aspect of the question I am interested in:
Question 1. Let $a$ and $b$ be two elements of a (noncommutative) semiring $R$ such that $1+a^3$ and $1+b^3$ ...
- 33.8k
26
votes
1
answer
998
views
Idempotents in Rings of Differential Operators
Differential Operators on General Commutative Rings
Let k be an algebraically closed field of characteristic zero, and let R be a commutative k-algebra. Then a (Grothendieck) differential operator on ...
- 13k
25
votes
3
answers
1k
views
What spaces $X$ do have $\text{End}(X) \cong \text{End}(\mathbb{R})$?
This is a follow-up on the following question. Let $\text{End}(X)$ denote the endomorphism monoid of a topological space $X$ (that is, the collection of all continuous maps $f:X\to X$ with composition)...
- 48.9k
25
votes
2
answers
1k
views
The number of polynomials on a finite group
A function $f:X\to X$ on a group $X$ is called a polynomial if there exist $n\in\mathbb N=\{1,2,3,\dots\}$ and elements $a_0,a_1,\dots,a_n\in X$ such that $f(x)=a_0xa_1x\cdots xa_n$ for all $x\in X$. ...
- 41.9k
24
votes
3
answers
3k
views
Non-abelian Grothendieck group
By general nonsense the forgetful functor from groups to monoids has a left adjoint. It maps a monoid $(X,\cdot,1)$ to the free group on $\{\underline{x} : x \in X\}$ modulo the relations $\underline{...
- 63.1k
24
votes
2
answers
2k
views
What do you do if you believe a problem is undecidable?
While the title of this question is subjective, I hope to make what I'm looking for quite concrete. The first, and main question is this: If you believe that a problem you are working on is formally ...
- 18.7k
24
votes
2
answers
3k
views
What properties "should" spectrum of noncommutative ring have?
There are already a lot of discussion about the motivation for prime spectrum of commutative ring. In my perspective(highly non original), there are following reasons for the importance of prime ...
- 5,515
24
votes
5
answers
2k
views
Lie groups vs Lie monoids
Does there exist a well developed theory of a class of objects which might rightfully be called Lie monoids? By this I mean with axioms similar to those of Lie groups, but with the axiomatic existence ...
- 2,099
22
votes
5
answers
4k
views
Motivation for the Preprojective Algebra
Let $Q=(Q_0,Q_1)$ be a quiver and $k$ a field. We construct a new quiver $\bar{Q}$ in the following way. Let the vertices of $\bar{Q}$ be the same as the vertices of $Q$, and let the arrows of $\bar{Q}...
- 345
22
votes
2
answers
977
views
Mapping from a finite index subgroup onto the whole group
Dear All,
here is the question:
Does there exist a finitely generated group $G$ with a proper subgroup $H$ of finite index, and an (onto) homomorphism $\phi:G\to G$ such that $\phi(H)=G$?
My guess ...
- 1,437
22
votes
2
answers
1k
views
Toposes (topoi) as classifying toposes of groupoids
A famous theorem of Joyal and Tierney says that each Grothendieck topos is equivalent to the classifying topos of a localic groupoid. I believe that Butz and Moerdijk have shown that if the topos has ...
- 38.6k
21
votes
4
answers
7k
views
Binomial Expansion for non-commutative setting
What could be a reference about binomial expansions for non-commutative elements?
Specifically, where can I find a closed formula for the expansion of $(A+B)^n$ where $[A,B]=C$ and $[C,A]=[C,B]=0$?
...
- 829
21
votes
2
answers
3k
views
Integer matrices with no integer eigenvalues
Let $$A = \begin{pmatrix} 3&1 \\ 0&1 \end{pmatrix}$$ and $$B = \begin{pmatrix} 1&0\\ 1&2 \end{pmatrix}$$ I want to show that the only elements of the semigroup generated by $A$ and $B$...
- 1,045
21
votes
3
answers
2k
views
What is the precise relationship between groupoid language and noncommutative algebra language?
I have sitting in front of me two 2-categories. On the left, I have the 2-category GPOID, whose:
objects are groupoids;
1-morphisms are (left-principal?) bibundles;
2-morphisms are bibundle ...
- 54.6k
21
votes
1
answer
759
views
Extending $\Bbb N$ to a semiring with isomorphic additive and multiplicative structure
Seen $(\Bbb N,+,\cdot)$ as a semiring, is it possible to extend it to a semiring $(R,+,\cdot)$ so that the additive and multiplicative monoids become isomorphic? This means there is some monoid-...
- 13.6k
21
votes
1
answer
638
views
Grothendieck group of the Fibonacci monoid
Let's denote the Fibonacci numbers by $F_0=0,F_1=1,F_{n+2}=F_{n+1}+F_n \; \forall n \ge 0$. According to Zeckendorf's theorem, every positive integer can be represented uniquely as the sum of some (at ...
- 1,543
21
votes
1
answer
2k
views
Is there any non-commutative ring such that every element other than the identity is a zero divisor?
A (unital) ring $R$ with the property that every element other than the identity $1_R$ is a (two-sided) zero divisor, seems to be commonly called a "$0$-ring" or "$\mathcal O$-ring"...
- 10.5k
21
votes
0
answers
869
views
Noncommutative arithmetic mean geometric mean inequality and symmetric polynomials
While analyzing convergence speed of stochastic-gradient methods for convex optimization problems, Recht et al (2011) posed a tantalizing conjecture. It seems quite tricky, so after having struggled a ...
- 28.6k
19
votes
4
answers
4k
views
What are your favorite finite non-commutative rings?
When you are checking a conjecture or working through a proof, it is nice to have a collection of examples on hand.
There are many convenient examples of commutative rings, both finite and infinite, ...
19
votes
1
answer
1k
views
When should I expect a quiver with potential to be rigid?
This question is pretty technical, but there are some very smart people here.
Fix a quiver Q, WITH oriented cycles. Let k[[Q]] be the completed path algebra. (Like the path algebra, but we allow ...
- 156k
18
votes
2
answers
1k
views
Monoids of endomorphisms of nonisomorphic groups
Can monoids of endomorphisms of nonisomorphic groups be isomorphic ?
- 6,962
18
votes
1
answer
783
views
Are there any "simple" monoids with intermediate growth?
The discovery of the Grigorchuk group which has intermediate growth caused a number of other such groups to be found, but they are all fairly complicated, and as far as I know none of them are ...
- 1,947
18
votes
1
answer
770
views
Koszul complex for non-Koszul algebras
Let $A$ be a graded, connected, locally finite, quadratic algebra over a field $k$; that is, $A$ may be presented as $T(V)/I$, where $V = A_1$ is a finite dimensional $k$ vector space, and the ideal $...
- 4,133
17
votes
12
answers
4k
views
Why semigroups could be important?
There is known a lot about the use of groups -- they just really appear a lot, and appear naturally. Is there any known nice use of semigroups in Maths to sort of prove they are indeed important in ...
- 1,437
17
votes
2
answers
2k
views
How much theory works out for "almost commutative" rings?
I've been reading about D-modules, and have seen a proof that D_X, the ring of differential operators on a variety, is "almost commutative", that is, that its associated graded ring is commutative. ...
- 16k
17
votes
2
answers
3k
views
Compute Lie algebra cohomology
Is there a computer algebra system that is able to compute the Lie algebra cohomology in a given representation? What if the Lie algebra is finite dimensional?
In my case I would like to be able to ...
- 671
17
votes
3
answers
1k
views
Isomorphisms of quantum planes
Let $k$ be a field and $q\in k^{*}$. The quantum plane $k_{q}[x,y]$ is the algebra $k\langle x,y\rangle/\langle xy=qyx \rangle$ (i.e. the quotient of the free non-commutative $k$-algebra on two ...
- 2,218
17
votes
1
answer
1k
views
Non-commutative Galois theory
Recall that an finite-dimensional algebra $A$ over a field $k$ is central simple iff there is an iso
$A \otimes_k A^{op} \cong M_n(k)$
where $A^{op}$ is the opposite ring and $M_n(k)$ is the matrix ...
- 2,040
17
votes
1
answer
3k
views
Do these conditions on a semigroup define a group?
As is well known, if $S$ is a semigroup in which the equations $a=bx$ and $a=yb$ have solutions for all $a$ and $b$, then $S$ is a group. This question arose when someone misunderstood the conditions ...
- 7,217
17
votes
0
answers
536
views
Question about combinatorics on words
Let $\{a_1,a_2,...,a_n\}$ be an alphabet and let $\{u_1,...,u_n\}$ be words in this alphabet, and $a_i\mapsto u_i$ be a substitution $\phi$.
Question: Is there an algorithm to check if for some $m,k$...
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