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GEUNHO GIM
Contents
1. An example of a rng with no maximal ideal 1
2. Rngs satisfying xn = x for all x ∈ R 2
3. Sums of two squares 3
4. An example of a PID which is not a Euclidean domain 4
5. Polynomial Functions 6
6. Classes of rings 7
7. Examples of diagram chasing 8
8. ACC and DCC 9
M∞ Y∞
9. Z and Z 10
i=0 i=0
10. Selected problems from Elman’s note 12
11. Some Examples 19
References 20
Example 1.2. (Q, +), (R, +), (C, +) and any field of characteristic 0 (considered as an additive
group) are divisible. Q/Z, Zp∞ and any vector space over a field of characteristic 0 are also
divisible. But (Z/pZ, +), (Q× , ·) and (R× , ·) are not divisible.
Proposition 1.3. Let G be a divisible abelian group. Then G does not have a maximal subgroup.
(i.e., for any proper subgroup H of G, there is a proper subgroup H 0 of G properly containing
H.)
Proof. Suppose H ( G is a maximal subgroup. By Correspondence Principle, G/H is simple
and abelian, thus isomorphic to Z/pZ for some prime p. Choose g ∈ G \ H, then there is g 0 ∈ G
such that pg 0 = g. But pg 0 ∈ H since (G : H) = p. Contradiction!
Proposition 1.4. Let G be a divisible abelian group. Define x · y = 0 for all x, y ∈ G. Then G
is a rng without a maximal ideal.
Updated : Mar 14, 2014
1
Proof. Checking that G is a ring with multiplication · is straightforward. Note that we have
a one-to-one correspondence between ideals of G and additive subgroups of G. Thus maximal
ideals of G correspond to maximal additive subgroups of G, which don’t exist by the previous
proposition.
From now on, we let R be a rng (R doesn’t have to have 1R ). Also let Z(R) be the center of
R. Note that Z(R) = {a ∈ R | ar = ra for all r ∈ R} is a subring of R.
Lemma 2.2. Suppose xn = x for all x ∈ R for some n ≥ 2. Then,
(1) if ab = 0 for a, b ∈ R, then ba = 0.
(2) if a2 = ka for a ∈ R, k ∈ Z, then ka ∈ Z(R).
(3) an−1 ∈ Z(R) for all a ∈ R.
Proof. (1) ba = (ba)n = b(ab)n−1 a = 0.
(2) For any x ∈ R, 0 = (ka)x − a2 x = a(kx − ax) and 0 = x(ka) − xa2 = (kx − xa)a. By (1),
we have
x(ka) − axa = (kx − ax)a = 0 = a(kx − xa) = (ka)x − axa
thus x(ka) = (ka)x.
(3) (an−1 )2 = a2n−2 = an · an−2 = a · an−2 = an−1 . By (2), an−1 ∈ Z(R).
Theorem 2.3. If x3 = x for all x ∈ R, then R is commutative.
Proof. Note that a2 ∈ Z(R) for all a ∈ R by 2.2. Thus we have
xy = (xy)3 = x(yx)2 y = (yx)2 xy = yxyx2 y = yx3 y 2 = y 3 x3 = yx
for any x, y ∈ R.
Theorem 2.4. If x4 = x for all x ∈ R, then R is commutative.
Proof. For any a ∈ R, we have −a = (−a)4 = a4 = a. Since (a2 + a)2 = a4 + 2a3 + a2 = a2 + a,
a2 + a ∈ Z(R) for all a ∈ R by 2.2(2). Also we have
ab + ba = ((a + b)2 + (a + b)) − (a2 + a) − (b2 + b) ∈ Z(R)
for any a, b ∈ R. For x, y ∈ R, we have
xy = x4 y = x4 y + x2 yx2 − x2 yx2 = x2 (x2 y + yx2 ) − x2 yx2 = (x2 y + yx2 )x2 − x2 yx2 = yx4 = yx
since x2 y + yx2 ∈ Z(R).
Theorem 2.5. If x5 = x for all x ∈ R, then R is commutative.
2
Proof. Note that (a4 + a2 )2 = a8 + 2a6 + a4 = 2(a4 + a2 ), thus 2(a4 + a2 ) ∈ Z(R) for all a ∈ R
by 2.2(2). Also by 2.2(3), 2a2 = 2(a4 + a2 ) − 2a4 ∈ Z(R) for all a ∈ R. Furthermore,
2(a2 + a)3 + (a2 + a)2 + 5(a2 + a) = 7a4 + 4a3 + 8a2 + 11a ∈ Z(R)
Theorem 2.8 (Jacobson). Let R be a rng. Assume that for each x ∈ R, there is n(x) ∈ Z≥2
such that xn(x) = x (n(x) is not fixed!). Then R is commutative.
Proof. We will show that the norm function N : Z[i] → Z≥0 is a Euclidean function on Z[i].
Given x = a + bi, y = c + di ∈ Z[i], let xy = r + si for r, s ∈ Q. Choose m, n ∈ Z so that
|r − m| ≤ 12 and |s − n| ≤ 12 . Let q = m + ni and r = y − qx, then
y 1
N (r) = N (x)N − q = N (x)N ((r − m) + (s − n)i) ≤ N (x) < N (x)
x 2
Since every Euclidean domain is a PID, Z[i] is a PID (and also is a UFD). We will use this
to classify sums of two squares in Z.
Theorem 3.2. Let n ∈ N and write n = 2e0 pe11 · · · perr q1f1 · · · qsfs ∈ Z where pi ≡ 1(mod 4),
qj ≡ 3(mod 4) are odd primes. Then, n = x2 + y 2 for some x, y ∈ Z if and only if fj ’s are
even.
3
Proof. Step 1 : If p ≡ 1(mod 4) is a prime, then p | x2 + 1 for some x ∈ Z.
p−1 p+1
−1 ≡ (p − 1)! ≡ 1 · 2 · · · · · · · (p − 2) · (p − 1)
2 2
p−1 p−1
≡ 1 · 2··· − · · · (−2) · (−1)
2 2
p−1 2
p−1
≡ (−1) 2 1 · 2···
2
2
p−1
≡ 1 · 2··· (mod p)
2
Step 2 : If p ≡ 1(mod 4) is a prime, then p is a sum of two squares.
By Step 1, p | x2 + 1 = (x + i)(x − i) in Z[i] for some x ∈ Z. Since p - x + i, x − i in Z[i], p is not
prime. Since Z[i] is a PID, p is not irreducible. Thus, we can write p = αβ for some nonunits
α, β ∈ Z[i]. We have p2 = N (p) = N (α)N (β). Because N (r) = 1 if and only if r ∈ Z[i]× , we
have N (α) = N (β) = p. If α = u + vi for u, v ∈ Z, then p = N (α) = u2 + v 2 .
Step 3 : ”if” part of the theorem.
By Step 2, pi ’s are sums of two squares, and so is 2 = 12 + 12 . The equality (x2 + y 2 )(z 2 + w2 ) =
(xz + yw)2 + (xw − yz)2 shows that the product of sums of two squares is also a sum of two
squares. We can write 2e0 pe11 · · · perr = α2 + β 2 for some α, β ∈ N. If fj ’s are even, then
f /2 f /2
n = (αq11 · · · qsfs /2 )2 + (βq11 · · · qsfs /2 )2
Step 4 : ”only if” part of the theorem.
Suppose n = x2 + y 2 and d = (x, y), x = dx0 , y = dy0 , then n = d2 (x20 + y02 ) and (x0 , y0 ) = 1.
If p | x20 + y02 for some odd prime p, then p - x0 , y0 . (otherwise, p will divide both of them.) In
Z/pZ, we have x0 2 = −y0 2 .
p−1 2 ! p−1 2
x0 x0 p−1
1= = = (−1) 2
y0 y0
in Z/pZ shows that p ≡ 1 mod 4. This shows that qj ’s cannot divide x20 + y02 , thus should divide
d2 . So we have 2 | fj for all j.
The followings are generalizations of this type of classification.
Theorem 3.3. n ∈ N is a sum of three squares if and only if n 6= 4m (8k + 7) for m, k ∈ Z≥0 .
Theorem 3.4. Every positive integer is a sum of four(thus, or more) squares.
Theorem 3.5. For each n ∈ N, there is an integer g(n) ∈ N such that every positive integer
is a sum of g(n) nth powers.
We have
√ √ √
3 √ 3 3 √
19 b
− < 3− < 3− ≤ Im 2 + mθ + θ ≤ 0
2 2 2 a
There is n ∈ Z such that |Re( 2b 1
a + 2mθ + θ + n)| ≤ 2 . By the same argument with Case 1, we
have N (2b + a(2mθ + θ + n)) < N (a) and −b − amθ = a(θ+n) 2 ∈ a. If n is even, then aθ
2 ∈ a
and 2 = ( 2 )θ̄ − 2a ∈ a, which is a contradiction since 0 < N ( a2 ) < N (a). If n is odd, then
a aθ
a(θ+1)
2 ∈ a and a2 = ( a(θ+1)
2 )θ + 1 − 2a ∈ a, which is also a contradiction.
√ √
Case 3 : − 419 ≤ Im( ab + mθ) ≤ − 2
3
5
5. Polynomial Functions
Let R be a ring and Func(R, R) = {f : R → R | f is a function} (we don’t assume any
property of f ) be the ring of functions from R to R. The ring structure of Func(R, R) is given
pointwise: (f + g)(a) = f (a) + g(a), (f g)(a) = f (a)g(a). We consider the map
Φ = ΦR : R[t] → Func(R, R)
f (t) 7 → (Φ(f ) : a 7→ f (a))
Definition 5.1. A function f ∈ Func(R, R) is called a polynomial function if f ∈ Im Φ.
Example 5.2. Φ is not surjective in general. Let R = R and consider exp ∈ Func(R, R) where
et
exp(a) = ea . For any polynomial f (t) ∈ R[t], we have lim = ∞, thus exp ∈
/ Im Φ.
t → ∞ f (t)
Example 5.3. Φ is not injective in general. Let R = Z/pZ, then we have xp = x for all x ∈ Z/pZ.
Therefore, Φ(tp ) = Φ(t).
Example 5.4. Φ is in general not a ring homomorphism. Suppose that R is not commutative,
and ab 6= ba for a, b ∈ R. Consider f (t) = t, g(t) = a ∈ R[t]. Then, we have (Φ(f )Φ(g))(b) =
(Φ(f )(b))(Φ(g)(b)) = ba 6= ab = Φ(f g)(b).
If R is an infinite domain or a finite field, then we can say something more about the function
Φ.
Theorem 5.5. If R is an infinite domain, then Φ is injective.
Proof. Suppose f (t), g(t) ∈ R[t] and Φ(f ) = Φ(g). This means we have (f − g)(a) = 0 for all
a ∈ R. If f (t) − g(t) 6= 0, then f − g can have at most deg(f − g) distinct roots. Since R is
infinite, we have f (t) = g(t).
Theorem 5.6. Let R = Fq be a (the) finite field of order q, then we have ker Φ = (tq − t) and
Φ is surjective. Therefore, we have Fq [t]/(tq − t) ∼
= Func(Fq , Fq ).
Proof. (In 110C, we will see that q must be a power of prime, and there are only one finite field
of order q up to isomorphism. But we won’t need these facts for the proof of this theorem.)
Note that |F× ×
q | is a multiplicative group of order q − 1. Thus for any a ∈ Fq , we have a
q−1 = 1.
q q
This means t − t ∈ Fq [t] has all the elements of Fq as its roots, so (t − t) ⊆ ker Φ. Suppose
g(t) ∈ ker Φ. By euclidean algorithm, there are q(t), r(t) ∈ Fq [t] such that g(t) = (tq −t)q(t)+r(t)
and r = 0 or deg r < deg(tq − t) = q. Since g(a) = 0 = aq − a for all a ∈ Fq , we get r(a) = 0 for
all a ∈ Fq by evaluating t = a to the above equation. If r 6= 0, then r can only have deg r(< q)
distinct roots in Fq . Thus we have r = 0 and g ∈ (tq − t).
By the first isomorphism theorem, we have
Fq [t]/(tq − t) ∼
= Im Φ ⊆ Func(Fq , Fq )
Now we can compare two sides by counting the number of elements. Note that for any f (t) ∈
Fq [t], we can find r(t) ∈ Fq [t] such that f (t) = r(t) in Fq [t]/(tq − t) and deg r < q by euclidean
algorithm. Also any r1 (t) 6= r2 (t) ∈ Fq [t] with deg r1 < q and deg r2 < q, we have r1 (t) 6= r2 (t)
in Fq [t]/(tq − t) because the difference r1 − r2 has degree less than q, thus cannot be in (tq − t).
|Fq [t]/(tq − t)| = # of polynomials of degree less than q over Fq
= |{a0 + a1 t + · · · + aq−1 tq−1 | ai ∈ Fq }| = q q
On the other hand, we have
|Fq [t]/(tq − t)| = |Im Φ| ≤ |Func(Fq , Fq )| = q q = |Fq [t]/(tq − t)|
6
This shows the surjectivity of Φ.
Corollary 5.7. Any function f : Z/pZ → Z/pZ is a polynomial function.
The above corollary is interesting, but doesn’t tell you which polynomial determines the
function f . There’s a useful formula to find a polynomial defining a function f .
Let F be a field (not necessarily finite) and consider the pairs (x0 , y0 ), (x1 , y1 ), · · · , (xk , yk ) ∈
F × F where xi 6= xj if i 6= j. Then we can find a polynomial L(t) ∈ F [t] such that L(xi ) = yi
for all i = 0, · · · , k with deg L ≤ k. We first define
Y t − xj
li (t) = ∈ F [t]
xi − xj
j6=i
0≤j≤k
6. Classes of rings
Consider the following classes of rings.
(1) Field ( (2) Euclidean domain ( (3) PID (
(4a) Noetherian domain, (4b) UFD
( (5) Integral domain ( (6) Commutative ring ( (7) All rings
7
(1) ⇒ (2) ⇒ (3) ⇒ (4a) or (4b) ⇒ (5) ⇒ (6) ⇒ (7) Clear
(2) ; (1) Z √
(3) ; (2) Z[ −1−2 19 ] by the previous section.
(4a) ; (3), (4b) ; (3) Since Z is a UFD and a Noetherian domain, Z[t] is also a UFD ([2] Ch
30) and a Noetherian
√ domain (Hilbert basis theorem).
√ But (2, t) ⊆ Z[t] is not principal.
(4a) ; (4b) Z[ −5] is Noetherian because Z[ −5] ∼
= Z[t]/(t 2 + 5) and Z[t] is Noetherian, but
√ √ √
UFD because 1 + −5 ∈ Z[ −5] is irreducible, but not prime. (1 + −5 | 6 = 2 · 3
is not a √
but 1 + −5 - 2, 3)
(4b) ; (4a) Z[t1 , t2 , · · · , tn · · · ] is a UFD because any polynomial has only finitely many vari-
ables and Z[t1 , t2 , · · · , tn ] is a UFD for all n by induction. But it is not Noetherian because we
have a strictly increasing sequence of ideals (t1 ) ( (t1 , t2 ) ( · · · .
(5) ; (4a), (5) ; (4b) The examples above work.
(6) ; (5) Z/4Z
(7) ; (6) M2 (R)
∞
M ∞
Y
9. Z and Z
i=0 i=0
∞
Y ∞
M
Lemma 9.3. Let f : Z → Z be a Z-module homomorphism. If Z ⊆ ker f , then f = 0.
i=0 i=0
since ei ∈ ker f for all i. So 2k | f ((ai 2i )i ) ∈ Z for all k, which means f ((ai 2i )i ) = 0. Similarly
we have f ((bi 3i )i ) = 0 and f (x) = f ((ai 2i )i ) + f ((bi 3i )i ) = 0.
10
P P
Remark 9.4. We cannot prove that f ( xi ) = f (xi ) for infinite sums! Note that we have
this for finite sums by repeatedly using the fact that f is an additive homomorphism.
∞
Y
Theorem 9.5. Z is not a free Z-module.
i=0
Q Q Q
Proof. Suppose that Z is free with a basis B. Note that Z is uncountable ( Z contains
Q L
{±1}, which has cardinality ℵ1 ), thus B is also uncountable. Since L each element in Z
can be written as a finite Z-linear combinationL of elements in B, and Z is countable, we
have a countable subset
Q B 0 ( B such that Z ⊆ hBQ 0 i. Choose b ∈ B \ B0 and consider
the projection πb : Z → Z which maps an elementL of Z to its coefficient of b. Then πb is
a well-defined Z-module homomorphism, and Z ⊆ hB0 i ⊆ ker πb . By 9.3, we should have
πb = 0, but we have πb (b) = 1. Contradiction!
Q
Remark 9.6. Z is an example of a torsion-free Z-module which is not free. This doesn’t
happen in the category of finitely generated modules over Z.
∞
!
Z , then Rm ∼
Y
Theorem 9.7. Let R = EndZ = Rn as free R-modules for all m, n ∈ N.
i=0
(this says that the rank of a free R-module is not well-defined!)
Proof. Consider the following elements in R.
f1 (a0 , a1 , a2 , · · · ) = (a0 , a2 , a4 , · · · )
f2 (a0 , a1 , a2 , · · · ) = (a1 , a3 , a5 , · · · )
g1 (a0 , a1 , a2 , · · · ) = (a0 , 0, a1 , 0, a2 , 0, · · · )
g2 (a0 , a1 , a2 , · · · ) = (0, a0 , 0, a1 , 0, a2 , · · · )
Note that we have f1 g1 = f2 g2 = 1R , f1 g2 = f2 g1 = 0 and g1 f1 + g2 f2 = 1R .
For any h ∈ R,
h = h ◦ 1R = h(g1 f1 + g2 f2 ) = (hg1 )f1 + (hg2 )f2
This shows {f1 , f2 } spans R. If we have h1 f1 + h2 f2 = 0 for some h1 , h2 ∈ R, then
0 = 0 ◦ g1 = (h1 f1 + h2 f2 )g1 = h1 (f1 g1 ) + h2 (f2 g1 ) = h1
which is not possible because E22 does not appear in the right-hand side. Therefore, E11 is not
invertible, and Mn (R) is not a division ring.
Problem (21.20.13). Let a1 , · · · , an be ideals in R, at least n − 2 of which are prime. Let
S ⊂ R be a subrng (it does not have to have 1) contained in a1 ∪ a2 ∪ · · · ∪ an . Then one of
the aj ’s contains S. In particular, if p1 , · · · , pn are prime ideals in R and b is an ideal properly
contained in S satisfying S \ b ⊂ p1 ∪ · · · ∪ pn , then S lies in one of the pi ’s.
Proof. Let m(≤ n) be the minimal number of ai ’s whose union
[ contains S. By reindexing if
necessary, we can assume that S ⊆ a1 ∪ · · · ∪ am and S * aj if |J| < m. Note that
j∈J⊆{1,2,··· ,n}
m
[ [ [
S= (S ∩ ai ) and ∅ 6= S ∩ ai * aj by the choice of m. Choose ai ∈ (S ∩ ai ) \ aj .
i=1 j6=i j6=i
1≤j≤m 1≤j≤m
If m = 2, then we have a1 + a2 ∈ S ⊆ a1 + a2 . If a1 + a2 ∈ a1 , then a2 = (a1 + a2 ) − a1 ∈ a1 ,
which is a contradiction. If a1 + a2 ∈ a2 , we also get a contradiction.
If m ≥ 3, then at least one of ai ’s, say a1 , is prime. Consider the element a = a1 + a2 a3 · · · am ∈
S ⊆ a1 ∪ · · · ∪ am . If a ∈ a1 , then a2 a3 · · · am = a − a1 ∈ a1 . Since a1 is prime, we have
some aj ∈ a1 for j ≥ 2, which is a contradiction. If a ∈ aj for some j ≥ 2, then a1 =
a − (a2 · · · aj−1 aj+1 · · · am )aj ∈ aj , thus a contradiction.
This shows that m = 1, i.e., S ⊆ aj for some j.
√
Problem (25.21.2). Produce elements a and b in the domain R = {x + 2y −1 | x, y ∈ Z}
having no gcd. Prove your elements do not have a gcd.
Proof. Consider a = 4 + 4i and b = 8 in R. We can see that 2 and 2 + 2i are common divisors of
√(x) | N (y) in Z if x | y in R, and there is no element having N (α) = 2 in
a and b. Note that N
R because N (x + 2y −1) = x2 + 4y 2 = 2 has no solution in Z. Suppose there is a gcd g = (a, b)
in R.
2, 2 + 2i | g | a, b
gives us
4, 8 | N (g) | N (a) = 32, N (b) = 64
in Z. If N (g) = 8, then N ( g2 ) g
= 2. If N (g) = 16, then we have N ( 2+2i ) = 2. If N (g) = 32, then
8
N ( g ) = 2. In all cases we end up getting elements in R with norms equal to 2, which is not
possible. Therefore, a and b do not have a gcd in R.
Problem (25.21.14). Prove that a domain in which every prime ideal is principal is a PID.
13
Proof. Let R be a domain satisfying the assumption,
S = {a ⊆ R | a is an ideal which is not principal}
[
and assume that S is nonempty. For any chain of ideals a1 ⊆ a2 ⊆ · · · in S, the union ai is
S i
not principal. (If i ai = (a), then a ∈ aj for some j and aj = (a).) This means any chain in
S has an upper bound in S, so we can apply Zorn’s lemma to get a maximal element m in S.
Note that m is not prime by assumption, thus we have some a, b ∈ R such that a, b ∈ / m and
ab ∈ m. Since m + (a) is an ideal properly containing m, m + (a) = (c) for some c ∈ R. Define
the ideal quotient (m : (a)) = {r ∈ R | ra ∈ m}, then we can easily check that (m : (a)) is an
ideal of R containing m + (b). Let (m : (a)) = (d) for d ∈ R. Since da ∈ m, we have
(cd) ⊆ (m + (a))(d) ⊆ m
On the other hand, for any x ∈ m ⊆ m + (a) = (c), x = cy for some y ∈ R. Because a ∈ (c), we
have ya ∈ (cy) ⊆ m, which means y ∈ (m : (a)) = (d). Thus x ∈ (cd) and m ⊆ (cd). Therefore
m = (cd) and this gives us a contradiction. So S is empty, and R is a PID.
Problem (29.19.1). Let R be a commutative ring. Show that a polynomial f = a0 + a1 t +
· · · + an tn in R[t] is a unit in R[t] if and only if a0 is a unit in R and ai is nilpotent for every
i > 0.
Proof. (⇐) Suppose a0 is a unit and ai is nilpotent for every i > 0. Consider g = a−1 0 f =
1 + aa01 t + · · · + aan0 tn . Suppose we have ami
i
= 0, and let M = m 1 + · · · + mn . Note that g − 1 is
nilpotent in R[t] by
n
!M
X a i
X
(g − 1)M = ti = a−M
0 br1 r2 ···rn ari i tiri = 0 (br1 r2 ···rn ∈ Z)
a0
i=1 r1 +r2 +···+rn =M
(Theorem) Let R be a PID and A ∈ Mm,n (R). Then there are matrices P ∈ GLm (R), Q ∈
GLn (R) such that P AQ = diag(a1 , a2 , · · · , ar , 0, · · · , 0) (called a Smith Normal Form of A) for
ai 6= 0, a1 | a2 | · · · | ar . Furthermore, the ideals (a1 ) ⊃ (a2 ) ⊃ · · · ⊃ (ar ) completely determine
a Smith Normal Form of A and al ∼ ∆l /∆l−1 where ∆l = ∆l,A is a gcd of all l × l minors of A.
Let A = [f ]SSm
n
. Then by the theorem above, we can find P ∈ GLm (Z), Q ∈ GLn (Z) such that
P AQ = diag(a1 , a2 , · · · , ar , 0, · · · , 0). Clearly we have r ≤ min(m, n). We write P = [idZm ]βSm
and Q = [idZn ]Sαn where α = {v1 , v2 · · · , vn } and β = {w1 , w2 , · · · , wm } are basis of Zn and Zm
respectively. Now we have
P AQ = [idZm ]βSm [f ]SSm
n
[idZn ]Sαn = [idZm ◦ f ◦ idZn ]βα = [f ]βα = diag(a1 , · · · , ar , 0, · · · , 0)
We can easily see that (
Zvr+1 + · · · + Zvn if n > r
ker f =
0 if n = r
and im f = Za1 w1 + · · · + Zar wr from [f ]βα . Now,
f is monic ⇐⇒ ker f = 0 ⇐⇒ r = n ⇐⇒ rank im f = n ⇐⇒ rank [f ]SSm
n
=n
⇐⇒ ∆m,[f ]Sm = 1
Sn
because ∆m = a1 a2 · · · am and ∆l of similar matrices are associates for all l by Lemma 37.6.
15
(Solution 2) Now we prove this without using a Smith Normal Form.
For the first part, let Sn = {e1 , e2 , · · · , en } and Sm = {f1 , f2 , · · · , fm }.
n
!
X
f is monic ⇐⇒ ker f = 0 ⇐⇒ f ni ei = 0 implies ni = 0 for all i
i=1
n
X
⇐⇒ ni f (ei ) = 0 implies ni = 0 for all i
i=1
⇐⇒ {f (ei )}ni=1 is a basis of im f
⇐⇒ rank[f ]SSm
n
=n
For the second part, we first prove that if f is epic, then ∆m,[f ]Sm = 1. Let A = [f ]SSm
n
. Since f
Sn
vi1
vi2
is surjective, we can find vi = .. such that Avi = fi for each i. Let V be the n × m matrix
.
vin
whose ith column is vi , then we have AV = Im . We denote the ith column(resp. row) of A by
[A]i (resp. [A]i ). Using the fact that the determinant function is multilinear on columns, we can
show that
1 = det(Im ) = det(v11 [A]1 + · · · + v1n [A]n , · · · , vm1 [A]1 + · · · + vmn [A]n )
= v11 v21 · · · vn1 det([A]1 , [A]1 , · · · , [A]1 ) + · · · + v1n v2n · · · vmn det([A]n , [A]n , · · · , [A]n )
X
= ui1 i2 ···im det([A]i1 , · · · , [A]im )
1≤i1 <i2 <···<im ≤n
for some ui1 i2 ···im ∈ Z. We used the facts that the determinant of a matrix with two identical
columns is zero, and that changing the order of columns only affects the sign of the determinant.
The m × m minors of A look like ([A]i1 · · · [A]im ), thus the above equation says that 1 is a Z-
linear combination of the determinants of m × m minors of A, i.e., ∆m = 1.
Finally, we prove that if ∆m = 1, then f is epic. Since a gcd of the determinants of m × m
minors of A is 1, we can find integers ri1 i2 ···im ∈ Z such that
X
1= ri1 i2 ···im det([A]i1 , [A]i2 , · · · , [A]im )
1≤i1 <i2 <···<im ≤n
Let Bi1 i2 ···im = adj([A]i1 [A]i2 · · · [A]im ) ∈ Mm,m (Z) and define B^ i1 i2 ···im ∈ Mn,m (Z) by
(
[Bi1 i2 ···im ]k if j = ik
[B^ i1 i2 ···im ]j =
0 otherwise
i1 im i1 im
i1 i2 ···im = ([A] · · · [A] )Bi1 i2 ···im = det([A] · · · [A] )Im . Because
Then we have AB^
X X
i1 im
A( ri1 i2 ···im B^
i1 i2 ···im ) = ri1 i2 ···im det([A] · · · [A] ) Im = Im
is surjective, so is A = [f ]SSm
n
.
Problem (38.23.7). Let R be a commutative ring. Let En (R) be the subgroup of GLn (R)
generated by all matrices of the form I + λ where λ is a matrix with precisely one non-zero
entry and this entry does not occur on the diagonal. Suppose that R is a euclidean ring. Show
that SLn (R) = En (R).
16
Proof. We use induction on n.
When n = 1, this is trivial because we have SL1 (R) = {(1R )} = E1 (R).
Suppose n > 1. Note that every generator of En (R) has the form I + λEij for some λ ∈ R and
i 6= j, thus has determinant 1. So it is clear that En (R) ⊆ SLn (R).
Conversely, suppose A ∈ SLn (R). For matrices M, N ∈ Mn (R), we write
∗
M ∼ N if N = P M Q for some P, Q ∈ En (R)
∗ ∗
(∼ is an equivalence relation!) We will show that A ∼ T for some T ∈ En (R), which implies
that A ∈ En (R). We can also easily see that multiplying I + λEij on the left is equivalent to
adding λ times j-th row to i-th row, and multiplying I + λEij on the right is equivalent to
adding λ times i-th column to j-th column.
Since A = (aij ) 6= 0, we can find a nonzero component aij 6= 0. We want to have aij | aik , alj
for all 1 ≤ k, l ≤ n. If this is not the case, pick aik (or alj ) which is not divisible by aij . Since
R is a euclidean ring, we can find elements q, r ∈ R such that aik (or alj )= qaij + r with
r 6= 0, δ(r) < δ(aij ) where δ is a euclidean function on R. Now A(I − qEjk )(or (I − qEli )A) has
r as one of its entries. If r divides all entries on the same row/column, we’re good. Otherwise
repeat the same process. This process has to stop after finite number of steps because we will
have strictly decreasing values of δ, which is defined on Z≥0 .
∗
Therefore we can assume that A ∼ B = (bij ) for some B ∈ SLn (R) satisfying bij | bik , blj for
some i, j and 1 ≤ k, l ≤ n. Let bik = ek bij , blj = fl bij (ek , fl ∈ R) and
Y Y
C=
(I − fl Eli )B
(I − ek Ejk )
l6=i k6=j
1≤l≤n 1≤k≤n
then
0
..
.
..
∗ . ∗
∗
0
A∼C=
0 ··· ··· 0 bij 0 ··· 0
0
..
∗ . ∗
0
Also note that bij | det C = det A = 1, thus bij ∈ R× . Let c11 be the (1, 1)-th component of C,
and
(I + E1i )C(I + 1−cbij Ej1 )
11
if i 6= 1, j 6= 1
C(I + 1−c11 E )
if i = 1, j 6= 1
b1j j1
D= 1−c11
(I + bi1 E1i )C if i 6= 1, j = 1
C if i = j = 1
17
then
1 ∗
∗ ∗
Y Y
A ∼ D = (dij ) = ∼ (I − dl1 El1 ) D (I − d1k E1k )
∗ ∗
2≤l≤n 2≤k≤n
1 0
=
0
A1
for some A1 ∈ SLn−1 (R). By inductive hypothesis, A1 ∈ En−1 (R), i.e., there are matrices
U1 , U2 , · · · , Ur such that Uk = In−1 + λk Eik jk for some λk ∈ R, 1 ≤ ik , jk ≤ n − 1 and
A1 = U1 U2 · · · Ur . Define
1 0
Vk = = In + λk Ei +1,j +1 ∈ En (R)
0 k k
Uk
then
1 0
∗
A∼ = V1 V2 · · · Vr ∈ En (R)
0 A1
Problem (38.23.8). Let A be a finite abelian group and let
 = {χ : A → C× | χ a group homomorphism}
It is easily checked that  is a group via χ1 χ2 (x) = χ1 (x)χ2 (x). Show that
(1) A and  have the same order and, in fact, are isomorphic.
P
(2) If χ is not the identity element of Â, then a∈A χ(a) = 0.
Proof. (1) Suppose first A is cyclic and A ∼
= Z/nZ. Define
φ:A → Â = Hom(A, C× )
a 7→ (χa : b 7→ ζnab )
2πi
where ζn = e n . φ is a well-defined (χa ∈ Â for all a ∈ A) group homomorphism. (χa+b = χa χb )
If χa = 1A , then 1 = χa (1) = ζna , i.e., a = 0. Thus, φ is injective.
For any χ ∈ Â, 1 = χ(0) = χ(1)n . So χ(1) = ζnk for some k, and χ = χk because χ(1) completely
determines χ. Thus, φ is surjective.
For a general finite abelian group A, we know that A ∼
L
= i Ai where Ai ’s are cyclic groups.
Therefore, we have
\ ∼Y
 ∼ Âi ∼ Ai ∼
M Y
= Ai = = =A
i i i
fact that HomR ( i∈I Ai , B) ∼
L
Note that the second isomorphism comes from a more generalL
Q =
i∈I Hom R (A i , B) (defined by f →
7 (f ◦ ι i ) where ι i : A i ,→ A i ) for R-modules A i , B and
18
any (possible infinite) index set I. (Check this!)
(2) If χ 6= 1A , then we can find b ∈ A such that χ(b) 6= 1. We have
X X X
(χ(b) − 1) χ(a) = χ(b)χ(a) − χ(a)
a∈A a∈A a∈A
X X
= χ(a + b) − χ(a) = 0
a∈A a∈A
P
Thus, a∈A χ(a) = 0.
20