Projective modules: Radicals

April 15, 2008

Radicals

A nil ideal is one where each element is nilpotent. The nilradical of a ring R, denoted Nil(R), is the sum of all the nil ideals of R. Theorem 9.1. Nil(R) is a nil ideal hence the unique largest nil ideal. Moreover, Nil(R/ Nil(R)) = 0. The proof is based on two claims: a. If I < J and I is a nil ideal then J is a nil ideal if and only if J/I is a nil ideal (in R/I). Proof. If x R and x is its image in R/I then xn = xn . So, if xn = 0 then xn = 0. Conversely, if xm = 0 then xm I, whence (xm )k = 0 for some k. b. An arbitrary sum of nil ideas is a nil ideal. Proof. If I and J are nil ideals then so is (I + J)/I, since it is the homomorphic image of J in R/I. By part a, I + J is a nil ideal. By induction, any nite sum of nil ideals is a nil ideal. Finally, if x is in a sum of nil ideals then it lies in the sum of nitely many of those ideals. Theorem 9.2. If R be an artinian ring and N = Nil(R) then N is nilpotent and R/N is a Wedderburn ring. Proof. By the previous theorem R/N has no nonzero nil ideals, hence R/N is a Wedderburn ring. To prove that N is nilpotent, consider the descending chain N > N 2 > 3 N > . Since R is artinian there is a k such that N k = N k+1 . I claim that N k = 0. This is equivalent to the statement that ideal I = {r R | N k r = 0} is all of R. Suppose this is not true: we seek a contradiction.

If I is a proper ideal then since R is artinian there is a left ideal J that is minimal over I. Necessarily J = I + Ra for some a R I. Thus, N k J = N k a = 0. We consider two cases. Case 1: N k J < I. Since N k J < J and J is minimal over I we must have that J = N k J + I = N k a + I. Thus there are x N k and y I such that a = xa + y. As we have noted above, 1 x is a unit. Hence a = (1 x)1 y I, a contradiction. Case 2: N k J < I. In this case N k J = N 2k J = N k N k J < N k I = 0, whence J < I, a contradiction. Since each possibility leads to a contradiction, we must have that I = R, or equivalently that N k = 0, as claimed. Theorem 9.3 (Hopkins-Levitzki Theorem). If R is artinian then every nitely generated module is noetherian. Equivalently, R is noetherian. Proof. Set N = Nil(R). For some k, N k = 0. If M is a nitely generated module then M has a nite ltration M > N M > N 2 M > > N k M = 0. Each factor N j M/N j+1 M is an R/N module. Since R is artinian, so are each of the submodules N j M and factors N j M/N j+1 M thereof. Since R/N is a Wedderburn ring, each factor is completely reducible. Hence each factor has a composition series. Hence so too does M . Lemma 9.4. Suppose that N is a nilpotent ideal in the ring R. 1. If A is an R-module and B is a submodule such that A = B + N A then A = B. In particular, if S is a simple module then N S = 0. 2. If P and Q are projective R-modules then P Q if and only if P/N P = = Q/N Q. Proof. Part 1: Work modulo B: if A = A/B then the hypotheses say that N A = A. If N k = 0 then A = N A = N 2 A = = N k A = 0. Part 2: If P and Q are any modules then any map P Q induces a map P/N Q/N , by the universal property of quotients. Suppose now that P is projective and we have an isomorphism : P/N Q/N . We can nd a map : P Q which makes the following diagram commutative:
P _ _ _/ Q

 P/N

 / Q/N

Note that Q = N Q + im , whence is surjective. If also Q is surjective then splits. That is, P = Q ker for some submodule Q . Since is an isomorphism and the diagram above commutes we conclude that ker < N P . Hence P = Q and ker = 0. That is, is an isomorphism. Lemma 9.5. Suppose that N is a N nil ideal. Let r denote r + N . If x is an idempotent in R/I then there is an idempotent e R such that e = x. In fact, we may choose e xRx. Proof. Since x x2 N we may choose k so that (x x2 )k = 0. Without loss, k > 1. By the Binomial Theorem, (1 x)k = 1 xy where xy = yx. Moreover, 1 xy = (1 x)k = 1 x, since 1 x is also an idempotent. Hence xy = x. Also, 0 = (x x2 )k = xk (1 x)k = xk (1 xy). That is, xk = xk (xy) = xk (xy)2 = = xk (xy)k = x2k y k . Therefore if we set e = (xy)k = x(xk2 y k )x then e2 = (xy)2k = x2k y k y k = xk y k = e, and e = (xy)k = xk = x.

Theorem 9.6. Suppose R is an artinian ring. Let N = Nil(R). 1. Up to isomorphism there are only nitely many simple R modules. These are the minimal left ideals of R/N , one for each factor in the decomposition of R into simple rings. Enumerate these simple ring factors as R1 , . . . , Rm , with corresponding minimal left ideals I1 , . . . , Im . 2. For each j there is a unique projective module Pj such that Pj /N Pj = Ij . This module is called the projective cover of Ij . It is a direct summand of R, and it is indecomposable. Moreover, N Pj is the unique maximal submodule of Pj . 3. Conversely, every indecomposable summand of R is one of the Pj . 4. If P is any projective module then P is a direct sum of copies of the Pj , in an essentially unique way. Proof. Part 1 follows from the fact that N annihilates every simple module, and that R/N is a Wedderburn ring. Part 2: Set R = R/I. Let ej be an idempotent of R such that Ij = Rej . Set Pj = Rej . Ij = (Pj + N )/N = Pj /Pj N. 3

Moreover, N Pj = N ej < Pj N = (Pj N )ej < N ej , since ej is a right identity on Pj . We conclude that Pj /N Pj = Pj /Pj N = Ij . The uniqueness of Pj follows from the lemma above. Since Ij is simple N Pj is maximal. If M is any submodule of Pj such that M + N Pj = Pj , then M = Pj . Hence N Pj is the unique maximal submodule. We leave the proofs of parts 3 and 4 as exercises.

Appendix: The Jacobson radical

We have followed Passmans development rather closely. An alternative, and more classical, development proceeds as follows. We say that a left ideal I isquasi-regular if 1 + I U (R). We have noted above that if x is nilpotent then 1 + x is a unit. Hence Nil(R) is quasi-regular. Theorem 9.7. If R is any ring then the following all describe the same ideal, which is called the Jacobson radical and is denoted J(R): J(R) = the set of elements which annihilate every simple module = the intersection of all maximal left ideals = the sum of all the quasi-regular ideals = the unique largest quasi-regular ideal. Proof. Exercise: Use the fact that if S is a simple module then for any 0 = x S we must have S = Rx. Hence the map r rx is a surjective module homomorphism. Theorem 9.8. If R is artinian then J(R) is nilpotent. In particular, J(R) = Nil(R) when R is artinian. Proof. Exercise: Use the fact that J(R) annihilates every minimal left ideal.