Ring/New page

Not to be confused with a ring of sets

Definition

Let [ilmath]R[/ilmath] be a non-empty set, let there be two binary operations (a kind of map where rather than [ilmath]f(a,b)[/ilmath] we write [ilmath]afb[/ilmath]):

1. [ilmath]\oplus:R\times R\rightarrow R[/ilmath] - called "addition", [ilmath]\oplus:(a,b)\mapsto a\oplus b[/ilmath]
2. [ilmath]\odot:R\times R\rightarrow R[/ilmath] - called "multiplication", [ilmath]\odot:(a,b)\mapsto a\odot b[/ilmath]

and let there be elements [ilmath]0_R\in R[/ilmath] and [ilmath]1_R\in R[/ilmath] (not necessarily distinct) such that we have the following 7 properties:

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TODO: This would be much nicer as a table....

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• [ilmath](R,\oplus,0_R)[/ilmath] is an abelian group
  • Group definition:
    1. [ilmath]\forall a,b,c\in R[(a\oplus b)\oplus c=a\oplus(b\oplus c)][/ilmath] - associativity
    2. [ilmath]\exists e\in R\ \forall a\in R[e\oplus a=a\oplus e=a][/ilmath] - existence of identity, on the group page we show it is unique, we denote it by [ilmath]0_R[/ilmath], so: [ilmath]\forall a\in R[a\oplus 0_R=0_R\oplus a=a][/ilmath]
    3. [ilmath]\forall a\in R\ \exists b\in R[a\oplus b=b\oplus a=0_R][/ilmath] - existence of inverse, on the group page we show it is unique. Denoted by [ilmath]-a[/ilmath] as we're using additive notation
  • Being an Abelian group adds an additional property:
    4. [ilmath]\forall a,b\in R[a\oplus b=b\oplus a][/ilmath] - commutivity
• [ilmath](R,\odot)[/ilmath] is a semigroup
  • Semigroup definition:
    5. [ilmath]\forall a,b,c\in R[(a\odot b)\odot c=a\odot(b\odot c)][/ilmath]
• There is distributivity in play in.
  • [ilmath]\odot[/ilmath] distributes across [ilmath]\oplus[/ilmath] Caution:I think... it might be the other way around... the following 2 rules are certainly correct however:
    6. [ilmath]\forall a,b,c\in R[a\odot(b\oplus c)=(a\odot b)\oplus(a\odot c)][/ilmath] and
    7. [ilmath]\forall a,b,c\in R[(a+b)c=ac+bc][/ilmath]

Then [ilmath](R,\oplus:R\times R\rightarrow R,\odot:R\times R\rightarrow R,0_R)[/ilmath] is a ring, but as mathematicians are lazy we just write [ilmath](R,\oplus,\odot,0_R)[/ilmath], [ilmath](R,\oplus,\odot)[/ilmath] or even just "Let [ilmath]R[/ilmath] be a ring".

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TODO: Be more formal about distributivity, I've checked my books, no one specified, they just say "it is distributive: "

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Further properties of elementary rings

There are 2 more additional properties we can apply to define rings:

8. [ilmath]\exists e_\odot\ \forall a\in R[a\odot e_\odot=e_\odot\odot a=a][/ilmath] - a multiplicative identity, this element if it exists is unique and denoted [ilmath]1_R[/ilmath] or just [ilmath]1[/ilmath]
9. [ilmath]\forall a,b\in R[a\odot b=b\odot a][/ilmath] - commutative with respect to [ilmath]\odot[/ilmath]

Giving us the following 4 types of elementary rings:

1. Ring - properties 1-7
2. Ring with unity (AKA: u-ring, ring with identity) - properties 1-8
3. Commutative ring (AKA: c-ring) - properties 1-7 and 9
4. Commutative ring with unity (AKA: cu-ring or q-ring - properties 1-9

Caveats

Some authors define a ring to be what we would call a ring with unity (which we shall call a u-ring throughout the site). Especially if the book covers the topics of rings and modules. We defined "commutative ring" and "ring with unity" above.

See next

• Types of ring
• Ring morphism
  • Ring homomorphism
    • Kernel of a ring homomorphism - see also: kernel
    • Image of a ring homomorphism - see also: image
  • Ring isomorphism
• Unit of a ring
• Division ring
• Ring ideal
• Quotient ring
• Fundamental ring homomorphism theorem
• Ring isomorphism theorems
• Module