Math 403 - Solutions for problem set 1

Page 230, problem 3. Suppose that R is a ring with identity 1

R
, that S is a subring of
R, and that 1
R
S. Then 1
R
r = r1
R
for all r R. In particular, 1
R
s = s1
R
for all s S.
Since 1
R
S, we can therefore consider 1
R
as an identity element in S. Thus, S is a ring
with identity 1
S
, namely 1
S
= 1
R
.
Now suppose that u is a unit in S. Therefore, there exists an element v S such that
uv = 1
S
. Hence, uv = 1
R
. Since S R, we have u, v R. The equation uv = 1
R
therefore
implies that u is a unit in R, which is what we wanted to prove.
To see that the converse is not true in general, consider S = Z and R = Q. Let
u = 2. Then u is a unit in R. But u is not a unit in S since S

= {1, 1}. As another

counterexample, take S = Z and R = Q again. Then s = 1/2 is a unit in R, but is not even
an element in S.
Page 230, problems 5(a). Let R denote the set of rational numbers with odd denomi-
nator. Then R Q. Also, R is closed under addition. To see this, consider , R. By
denition, we can write = a/b and = c/d, where a, b, c, d Z and both b and d are odd.
Then
+ = a/b + c/d = (ad + bc)/(bd) .
Now ad + bc and bd are both in Z, although not necessarily relatively prime. However, the
denominator of (ad+bc)/(bd) must divide bd. Since b and d are odd, it follows that bd is also
odd. Every divisor of bd will be odd too. In particular, the denominator of (ad + bc)/(bd)
must be odd. Therefore, + R. Hence R is closed under the addition operation for Q.
Note that the additive identity 0 of Q can be written in reduced form as 0/1 and so
0 R. Finally, if R, then we can write in reduced form: = a/b, where a, b Z,
b > 0, and gcd(a, b) = 1. Since R, b is odd. It follows that = (a)/b, which is the
reduced form for since a, b Z, b > 0, and gcd(a, b) = 1. Therefore, R.
We have proved that R is a subgroup of the underlying additive group of Q. It remains
to prove that R is closed under the multiplication operation in Q. To verify this, suppose
that , R. As before, we write = a/b and = c/d, where a, b, c, d Z and both b and
d are odd. Then
= (ac)/(bd) .
Since b and d are odd, so is bd. Any divisor of bd will also be odd. The denominator of
(when it is written in reduced form) is a divisor of bd and therefore must be odd. It follows
that R.
We have proved that R is a subring of Q.
Page 230, problem 5 (b). Let R be the set of rational numbers with even denominator.
The additive identity of Q is 0. The reduced form of 0 is 0/1. The denominator is 1, which
is not even. Therefore, 0 R. Therefore, R is not a subgroup of the underlying additive
group of Q. Hence R is not a subring of Q.
Page 231, problem 7. Suppose that R is a ring. Let
S = { z R | zr = rz for all r R } .
We will prove that S is a subring of R. First of all, we will verify that S is a subgroup of
the underlying additive group of R. For this purpose, suppose that z
1
, z
2
S. Then, for all
r R, we have z
1
r = rz
1
and z
2
r = rz
2
. Therefore, using the distributive laws for R, we
have
(z
1
+ z
2
)r = z
1
r + z
2
r = rz
1
+ rz
2
= r(z
1
+ z
2
)
for all r R. Therefore, z
1
+ z
2
S. Furthermore, letting 0 denote the additive identity of
R, we have 0 r = 0 and r 0 = 0. Hence 0 r = r 0. Therefore, 0 S.
Finally, suppose that z S. Let w = z, the additive inverse of z in R. We have
z +w = 0. Thus, z +w S. Since z is in S and z +w is in S, it follows that, for all r R,
we have zr = rz and (z + w)r = r(z + w). Therefore, we have
zr + wr = rz + rw = zr + rw
Thus, we have the equation zr + wr = zr + rw. Applying the cancellation law for the
underlying additive group of R to that equation, it follows that wr = rw for all r R.
Therefore, w S. That is, z S. This completes the verication that S is a subgroup of
the underlying additive subgroup of the ring R.
To complete the proof that S is a subring of R, we must show that if z
1
and z
2
are in
S, then so is z
1
z
2
. So, assume that z
1
, z
2
S. Then, for all r R, we have z
1
r = rz
1
and z
2
r = rz
2
. Consider z
1
z
2
, which is an element of R. Using the associative law for
multiplication in R many times, it follows that
(z
1
z
2
)r = z
1
(z
2
r) = z
1
(rz
2
) = (z
1
r)z
2
= (rz
1
)z
2
= r(z
1
z
2
)
for all r R. Therefore, we indeed have z
1
z
2
S.
We have shown that S is a subring of R. The subring S of R is often called the center
of R.
Now assume that R is a ring with identity. Let S be the center of R, as dened above.
Let 1 denote the multiplicative identity element of R. By denition, 1 r = r and r 1 = r
for all r R. Therefore, 1 r = r 1 for all r R. Therefore, we have 1 S.
Now assume that R is a division ring. Then, by denition, R is a ring with identity 1,
1 = 0, and every nonzero element of R is a unit of R. Suppose that S is the center of R.
Then 1 S and hence S is a ring with identity. Also, 0 is the additive identity of R and is
also the additive identity of the ring S. We have 1 = 0. We now prove that S is a division
ring. It suces to prove that S

= S {0}. Assume that z S and z = 0. Since z R

,
there exists an element w R such that zw = 1 and wz = 1. Since z S, we have zr = rz
for all r R. We also have the implications
zr = rz = w(zr) = w(rz) = (wz)r = (wr)z = 1r = (wr)z = r = (wr)z
= rw =
_
(wr)z
_
w = rw = (wr)(zw) = rw = (wr) 1 = rw = wr .
Thus, if we assume that z S, then wr = rw for all r R. Therefore, w S. We have
proved that if z is a nonzero element of S, then there exists an element w S such that
zw = 1 and wz = 1. Hence S is a division ring.
Finally, if a S, then ar = ra for all r R. Since S R, we can say that ab = ba for
all b S. Hence S is a commutative ring. Since S has been proved to be a division ring, it
follows that S is a eld. We have proved that if R is a division ring, then the center of R is
a eld.
Page 231, problem 8. Let H denote the ring of quaternions. Suppose that a, b, c, d R
and that = a + bi + cj + dk is in the center of H. It follows that = for all H.
We will rst take = i and then we will take = j. We have
i = ai + b(1) + c(k) + dj = b + ai + dj + (c)k,
i = ai + b(1) + ck + (d)j = b + ai + (d)j + ck .
Therefore,
i = i d = d and c = c c = d = 0 .
Also,
j = aj + bk + c(1) + (d)i = c + (d)i + aj + bk,
j = aj + (b)k + c(1) + di = c + di + aj + (b)k .
Therefore,
j = j d = d and b = b b = d = 0 .
If is in the center of H, it follows that i = i and j = j, and therefore it follows that
b = c = d = 0. Thus, has the form = a+0i +0j +0k. In the denition of H, we identify
such a quaternion with the real number a, and thereby regard R as a subring of H. With
that identication, we have proved that if is in the center of H, then R. Conversely,
if R, then is in the center of H. This is part of the denition of multiplication in H.
Therefore, we have proved that the center of H is the subring R, which is explicitly given
as
R = { a + 0i + 0j + 0k | a R } .
Now let S = { a + bi + 0j + 0k | a, b R }. We will prove that S is a subring of H
and that S is isomorphic to C. First of all, note that 0
H
= 0 + 0i + 0j + 0k is clearly in
S. Suppose that a, b, a

, b

R. Using the denition of addition and multiplication in H, we

have
(a + bi + 0j + 0k) + (a

+ b

i + 0j + 0k) = (a + a

) + (b + b

)i + 0j + 0k,
(a + bi + 0j + 0k)(a

+ b

i + 0j + 0k) = (aa

bb

) + (ab

+ ba

)i + 0j + 0k .
Both of these elements of H are actually in S. Hence S is closed under the operations of
addition and multiplication for H. Furthermore, the additive inverse of a + bi + 0j + 0k
is (a) + (b)i + 0j + 0k, which is clearly in S. It follows that S is a subgroup of the
underlying additive group of H and that S is closed under multiplication. Therefore, S is
indeed a subring of H.
Dene a map : C S as follows. For all a, b R, dene
(a + bi) = a + bi + 0j + 0k .
Suppose that a, b, a

, b

R. Let = a + bi,

= a

+ b

i.Thus,
+

= (a + a

) + (b + b

)i,

= (aa

bb

) + (ab

+ a

b)i .
Using the above calculations, we see that
(+

) = (a+a

)+(b+b

)i+0j+0k = (a+bi+0j+0k)+(a

+b

i+0j+0k) = ()+(

)
and
(

) = (aa

bb

)+(ab

+a

b)i+0j+0k = (a+bi+0j+0k)(a

+b

i+0j+0k) = ()(

)
Note also that is a bijection from C to S. Therefore, is an isomorphism of the ring C to
the subring S of H.
Finally, if a, b R and b = 0, then a + bi + 0j + 0k is in S, but not in the center of H
(which we determined previously). Therefore, S is not contained in the center of H.
Page 231, problem 17. This problem concerns the direct product RS of two rings R
and S. As a set, R S = { (r, s) | r R, s S }. We dene addition and multiplication
in R S as follows. If (r, s) and (r

, s

) are in R S, then we dene

(r, s) + (r

, s

) = (r + r

, s + s

) , (r, s) (r

, s

) = (r r

, s s

) .
Under addition, R S is the direct product of the underlying additive groups of R and S.
Thus, RS is an abelian group under the above dened addition operation. Since r r

R
and s s

S, we do have (r, s) (r

, s

) R S, and so multiplication, as just dened, is

indeed a binary operation on R S.
We must verify the associative law for multiplication and the distributive laws. Suppose
that (u, v) R S. Thus, u R and v S. To verify the associative law, note that
(u, v)
_
(r, s) (r

, s

)
_
= (u, v) (r r

, s s

) =
_
u (r r

), v (s s

)
_
=
_
(u r) r

, (v s) s

_
= (u r, v s) (r

, s

) =
_
(u, v) (r, s)
_
(r

, s

) .
To verify the left distributive law, note that
(u, v)
_
(r, s) +(r

, s

)
_
= (u, v) (r +r

, s +s

) =
_
u (r +r

), v (s +s

)
_
=
_
u r + u r

, v s + v s

_
= (u r, v s) + (u r

, v s

)
= (u, v) (r, s) + (u, v) (r

, s

) .
The right associative law is veried in a similar way.
Next we consider commutativity of multiplication. As above, suppose that and are
in R S. We can write = (r, s) and = (r

, s

), where r, r

R and s, s

S. Then
= (r r

, s s

) and = (r

r, s

s)
Therefore, = if and only if r r

= r

r and s s

= s

s.
In particular, if R and S are commutative rings, then r r

= r

r for all r, r

R and
s s

= s

s for all s S. Therefore, if R and S are commutative rings, it follows that

= for all , R S. Therefore, R S is a commutative ring. Conversely,
assume that RS is a commutative ring. Consider r, r

R and s, s

S. Let = (r, s)
and = (r

, s

), which are elements in R S. Since R S is a commutative ring, we have

= . Therefore, r r

= r

r. Hence R is a commutative ring. Also, s s

= s

s and
so S is a commutative ring too.
Finally, we consider the existence of a multiplicative identity element. Assume that R
and S are rings with identity. Let 1
R
and 1
S
denote the identity elements of R and S,
respectively. Consider the element (1
R
, 1
S
) in R S. For all r R and s S, we have
(1
R
, 1
S
) (r, s) = (1
R
r, 1
S
s) = (r, s) , (r, s) (1
R
, 1
S
) = (r 1
R
, s 1
S
) = (r, s)
Therefore, R S has a multiplicative identity element, namely the element (1
R
, 1
S
).
Conversely, assume that RS has a multiplicative identity element. Denote that element
by . We can write = (a, b), where a R and b S. Suppose that r R and s S.
Let = (r, s). By assumption, we have = and = . Equivalently, these equations
mean that
(a r, b s) = (r, s) and (r a, s b) = (r, s) .
Therefore, we have a r = r and r a = r for all r R. Hence R is a ring with identity,
namely the element a of R. Furthermore, we have b s = s and s b = s for all s S. Hence
S is a ring with identity, namely the element b of S.
Page 232, problem 24. For D = 3, 6, and 7, the ring in question is Z[

D]. For D = 5,
the ring is Z[(1 +

5)/2]. In each case, we will give a unit which satises the inequality
> 1. The group of units will then contain all powers of . Since > 1, we have
n+1
>
n
for all positive integers n. Therefore, the powers of provide an innite number of units in
the ring in question.
For D = 3, let = 2 +

3. Let

= 2

3, which is also in the ring Z[

3]. Note that

= 4 3 = 1. Hence is indeed a unit in Z[

3]. Also, we do have > 1.

For D = 6, let = 5 +2

6. Let

= 5 2

6, which is also in the ring Z[

6]. Note that

= 25 4 6 = 1. Hence is indeed a unit in Z[

6]. Also, we do have > 1.

For D = 7, let = 8 +3

7. Let

= 8 3

7, which is also in the ring Z[

7]. Note that

= 64 9 7 = 1. Hence is indeed a unit in Z[

7]. Also, we do have > 1.

Finally, consider D = 5. The ring in question is Z[], where = (1 +

5)/2. Let = .
Let

= (1

5)/2. Note that

= 1 and so

is also in the ring Z[]. We have

=
_
(1 +

5)/2
__
(1

5)/2
_
= (1 5)/4 = 1 .
Hence (

) = 1. Note that

is in Z[]. It follows that is a unit in Z[]. Also, > 1.

Additional Problem A. Let R = ZZ, the direct product of the ring Z with itself. Then
R is a commutative ring with identity and the multiplicative identity element of R is (1, 1).
The additive identity element of R is (0, 0). Suppose that a = (1, 0) and b = (0, 1). Then
a and b are elements of R, and neither is equal to the additive identity element 0
R
= (0, 0).
However, ab = (1, 0)(0, 1) = (0, 0) = 0
R
. Hence a and b are zero-divisors in the ring R. Thus,
the implication ab = 0
R
= a = 0
R
or b = 0
R
is not satised by the ring R. This implies
that R is not an integral domain.
Additional Problem B. This problem concerns the ring R = Z/10Z, an example of a
commutative ring with unit. Let S be dened as follows:
S = {[a]
10
| a is an even integer }
We will show that S is a subring of R and that S is a eld.
The fact that S is a subring of R is rather obvious. One just notes that if s
1
, s
2
S,
then s
1
= [a
1
]
10
, s
2
= [a
2
]
10
, where a
1
, a
2
are even integers. Then
s
1
+ s
2
= [a
1
+ a
2
]
10
, s
1
s
2
= [a
1
a
2
]
10
, s
1
s
2
= [a
1
a
2
]
10
,
are all in S because the integers a
1
+ a
2
, a
1
a
2
and a
1
a
2
are all even.
The ring S is obviously commutative. Also, the ring S has a multiplicative identity, namely
[6]
10
. This is veried by checking that
[6]
10
[a]
10
= [6a]
10
= [a]
10
for a = 0, 2, 4, 6 and 8. Alternatively, note that, for any integer b, we have 6b b (mod 5).
This congruence implies that 6(2b) 2b (mod 10). Therefore, if a = 2b, then we have the
congruence 6a a (mod 10). This means that [6a]
10
= [a]
10
for all even integers a.
To see that S is a eld, we verify that the four nonzero elements of S are all invertible:
[2]
10
[8]
10
= [6]
10
, [4]
10
[4]
10
= [6]
10
, [6]
10
[6]
10
= [6]
10
.
Therefore, S is a commutative division ring and hence is a eld.
Another subring T of R which is a eld is
T = {[a]
10
| a is an integer divisible by 5 } = {[0]
10
, [5]
10
}.
It is easy to verify that T is a subring of R and is a eld. The multiplicative identity is [5]
10
,
which is the only nonzero element of T and is clearly invertible.
Additional Problem C. To determine the center of the ring M
2
(R), we will rst nd all
2 2 matrices with real entries that commute with the matrix
E
11
=
_
1 0
0 0
_
.
We have
_
a b
c d
__
1 0
0 0
_
=
_
a 0
c 0
_
,
_
1 0
0 0
__
a b
c d
_
=
_
a b
0 0
_
A necessary and sucient condition for these two products to be equal is that b = c = 0.
Thus, the set of 2 2 matrices that commute with E
11
is
__
a 0
0 d
_

a, d R
_
Now suppose that A is an element of the center of the ring M
2
(R). Then AB = BA for
all B M
2
(R). In particular, we have AE
11
= E
11
A and AE
21
= E
21
A, where
E
21
=
_
0 0
1 0
_
.
As shown above, the fact that AE
11
= E
11
A implies that A has the form
A =
_
a 0
0 d
_
where a, d R. Now we use the fact that AE
21
= E
21
A. We have
AE
21
=
_
a 0
0 d
__
0 0
1 0
_
=
_
0 0
d 0
_
, E
21
A =
_
0 0
1 0
__
a 0
0 d
_
=
_
0 0
a 0
_
We have AE
21
= E
21
A if and only if a = d. Thus,
A =
_
a 0
0 a
_
= aI
2
,
where I
2
=
_
1 0
0 1
_
, a scalar multiple of the identity matrix I
2
. Note that I
2
is the multi-
plicative identity element in the ring M
2
(R). It is obvious that matrices of the form aI
2
do
indeed commute with all elements of M
2
(R). Thus,
{A M
2
(R) | AB = BA for all B M
2
(R) } = {aI
2
| a R }
That is, the center of the ring M
2
(R) is the subring {aI
2
| a R }.
Additional Problem D. We rst prove that the subset
S =
_ _
a b
b a
_

a, b R
_
.
is a subring of M
2
(R). We will then show that S

= C.
The additive identity element of M
2
(R) is
_
0 0
0 0
_
and this is clearly in S. For every
element A =
_
a b
b a
_
in S, its additive inverse is
A =
_
a b
(b) a
_
,
which is also in S. Furthermore, suppose that A

is also in S, and so we can write A

=
_
a

_
, where a

, b

R. Then
A + A

=
_
a b
b a
_
+
_
a

_
=
_
(a + a

b + b

(b + b

) (a + a

)
_
,
which is in S. We have proved that S is a subgroup of the underlying additive group of
M
2
(R).
To complete the verication that S is a subring of M
2
(R), it suces to show that S is
closed under the multiplication operation in M
2
(R). Let A and A

be as in the previous
paragraph. Then
AA

=
_
a b
b a
_ _
a

_
=
_
aa

bb

ab

+ ba

ba

+ a(b

) bb

+ aa

_
=
_
aa

bb

ab

+ ba

(ab

+ ba

) aa

bb

_
,
which is indeed in the subset S. We have proved that S is a subring of M
2
(R).
Now dene a map from C to S as follows.: For all a, b R, dene
(a + bi) =
_
a b
b a
_
.
The map is clearly a bijection from C to S. We will prove that is a ring homomorphism
and therefore that the subring S of M
2
(R) is isomorphic to C.
Consider z = a + bi, w = c + di C. We have
z + w = (a + c) + (b + d)i, zw = (ac bd) + (ad + bc)i
and so
(z + w) =
_
a + c b + d
(b + d) a + c
_
=
_
a b
b a
_
+
_
c d
d c
_
= (z) + (w)
and
(z)(w) =
_
a b
b a
__
c d
d c
_
=
_
ac bd ad + bc
bc ad bd + ac
_
=
_
ac bd ad + bc
(ad + bc) ac bd
_
= (zw) ,
showing that is indeed a ring homomorphism. Since is also a bijection, is an isomor-
phism of the ring C to the ring S.
Additional Problem E. Suppose that F is any eld. Suppose that we dene R and its
operations just as stated in the problem. The additive identity 0
R
of R is 0
F
+ 0
F
i. The
multiplicative identity 1
R
of R is 1
F
+0
F
i. Also, it will be convenient to identify an element
a F with the element a + 0
F
i in R. Thus, with this identication, we can regard F as a
subring of R.
We distinguish two cases.
Case 1: The equation a
2
+b
2
= 0
F
has a solution where a and b are nonzero elements of F.
In this case, consider = a + bi, which is a nonzero element of R. Let = a + (b)i,
which we write more simply as a bi. Then is also a nonzero element of R. Furthermore,
we have
= (a + bi)(a bi) = (a
2
+ b
2
) + 0
F
i = 0
F
+ 0
F
i = 0
R
Hence R has zero-divisors and so R is not an integral domain. We proved in class that every
eld is an integral domain. Hence R is not a eld.
Case 2: The only solution to the equation a
2
+ b
2
= 0
F
, where a, b F, is given by
a = b = 0
F
.
In this case, we will prove that R is a eld. First of all, note that R is a commutative
ring with identity 1
R
(as specied above). Also, 1
R
= 0
R
. Now suppose that = a + bi is
any nonzero element of R. This means that a and b are not both zero. Thus, a
2
+ b
2
= 0
F
.
Let c = a
2
+ b
2
, which is a nonzero element of F. Hence c is a unit in F. Hence, c has an
inverse in F under multiplication, which we write as c
1
. As stated above, we can regard
c
1
as an element of R.
Let = a bi, which is an element of R. Furthermore, we have
= (a
2
+ b
2
) + 0
F
i = (c + 0
F
i)(1
F
+ 0
F
i) = (c + 0
F
i)1
R
= c1
R
.
Multiplying both sides of the equation by c
1
, we obtain
(c
1
) = 1
R
.
Since c
1
is an element of R, it follows that is a unit in R. We have proved that every
nonzero element of R is a unit of R. Since R is a commutative ring with identity and 1
R
= 0
R
,
it follows that R is a eld.
Now consider F = Z/3Z. There are only two nonzero elements in F, namely 1 +3Z and
2 +3Z. Consider a
2
+b
2
, where a and b are nonzero elements of F. Then, checking the four
possibilities, we see that a
2
+ b
2
is always nonzero. Thus, the only solution to a
2
+ b
2
= 0
F
is a = b = 0
F
. Therefore, we are in case 2. Therefore, R is a eld.
Now consider F = Z/5Z. Let a = 1 + 5Z and b = 2 + 5Z, two nonzero elements of F.
We have a
2
+ b
2
= 5 + 5Z = 0 + 5Z = 0
F
. Hence we are in case 1. Hence R is not a eld.