Professional Documents
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Solutions
due July 31, 2011
1. Let R be a ring of characteristic p. Prove that if a is nilpotent then 1 + a
is unipotent, that is, some power of 1 + a is equal to 1.
Solution: If a is nilpotent, there is some n > 0 such that an = 0. Let
k
k be the smallest positive integer such that pk > n. Then (1 + a)p =
k
k
k
1p + ap = 1 + (an )(ap n ) = 1, i.e. 1 + a is nilpotent.
2. Find an ideal in the polynomial ring F [x, y] in two variables which is not
principal.
Solution: (x, y) is such an ideal, as only units divide both x and y.
3. (a) Let I, J be ideals of a ring R. Prove that I J is an ideal.
Solution: I J is an additive subgroup because intersections of subgroups are subgroups. If f I J and x R, then xf I because
f I and I is an ideal, and also xf J for the same reason, so
xf I J. Thus I J is an ideal.
(b) Show by example that the set of products {xyP: x I, y J} need
not be an ideal, but that the set of finite sums
x y of products of
elements of I and J is an ideal. This ideal is called the product ideal .
Solution: Let R = F [x, y, z, w], let I = (x, z), and J = (y, w). Then
xy and zw are both elements of the set of products {xy : x I, y J},
but their sum xy + zw is not, showing that this set cannot be an ideal.
The sum of two finite sums of products of elements of I and J is clearly
itself a finite sum of such products, while a product of two such sums
may be distributed over one of the sums to yield another, as per
X
X
X
X
(
x y )(
x y ) =
(x
x y )y
so the set of finite sums of products is indeed an ideal.
(c) Prove that IJ I J.
Solution: Every element of the product set {xy : x I, y J} lies
in the intersection ideal, and since the latter is an ideal finite sums
of products also lie in the intersection ideal. This exactly says that
IJ I J.
(d) Show by example that IJ and I J need not be equal.
Solution: Let I = J be a nontrivial ideal, say (x) F [x]. Then
IJ = I 2 = (x2 ), which does not equal (x) = I = I J.
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