In algebra, a torsion-free module is a module over a ring such that zero is the only element annihilated by a regular element (non zero-divisor) of the ring. In other words, a module is torsion free if its torsion submodule is reduced to its zero element.
In integral domains the regular elements of the ring are its nonzero elements, so in this case a torsion-free module is one such that zero is the only element annihilated by some non-zero element of the ring. Some authors work only over integral domains and use this condition as the definition of a torsion-free module, but this does not work well over more general rings, for if the ring contains zero-divisors then the only module satisfying this condition is the zero module.
Over a commutative ring R with total quotient ring K, a module M is torsion-free if and only if Tor 1(K/R,M) vanishes. Therefore flat modules, and in particular free and projective modules, are torsion-free, but the converse need not be true. An example of a torsion-free module that is not flat is the ideal (x, y) of the polynomial ring k[x, y] over a field k, interpreted as a module over k[x, y].
Any torsionless module over a domain is a torsion-free module, but the converse is not true, as Q is a torsion-free Z-module which is not torsionless.
Over a Noetherian integral domain, torsion-free modules are the modules whose only associated prime is zero. More generally, over a Noetherian commutative ring the torsion-free modules are those modules all of whose associated primes are contained in the associated primes of the ring.
Over a Noetherian integrally closed domain, any finitely-generated torsion-free module has a free submodule such that the quotient by it is isomorphic to an ideal of the ring.
Over a Dedekind domain, a finitely-generated module is torsion-free if and only if it is projective, but is in general not free. Any such module is isomorphic to the sum of a finitely-generated free module and an ideal, and the class of the ideal is uniquely determined by the module.
Over a principal ideal domain, finitely-generated modules are torsion-free if and only if they are free.
Over an integral domain, every module M has a torsion-free cover F → M from a torsion-free module F onto M, with the properties that any other torsion-free module mapping onto M factors through F, and any endomorphism of F over M is an automorphism of F. Such a torsion-free cover of M is unique up to isomorphism. Torsion-free covers are closely related to flat covers.
A quasicoherent sheaf F over a scheme X is a sheaf of -modules such that for any open affine subscheme U = Spec(R) the restriction F|U is associated to some module M over R. The sheaf F is said to be torsion-free if all those modules M are torsion-free over their respective rings. Alternatively, F is torsion-free if and only if it has no local torsion sections. [1]
In mathematics, a commutative ring is a ring in which the multiplication operation is commutative. The study of commutative rings is called commutative algebra. Complementarily, noncommutative algebra is the study of ring properties that are not specific to commutative rings. This distinction results from the high number of fundamental properties of commutative rings that do not extend to noncommutative rings.
In abstract algebra, a Dedekind domain or Dedekind ring, named after Richard Dedekind, is an integral domain in which every nonzero proper ideal factors into a product of prime ideals. It can be shown that such a factorization is then necessarily unique up to the order of the factors. There are at least three other characterizations of Dedekind domains that are sometimes taken as the definition: see below.
Ring theory is the branch of mathematics in which rings are studied: that is, structures supporting both an addition and a multiplication operation. This is a glossary of some terms of the subject.
In mathematics, a module is a generalization of the notion of vector space in which the field of scalars is replaced by a ring. The concept of module generalizes also the notion of abelian group, since the abelian groups are exactly the modules over the ring of integers.
In mathematics, a finitely generated module is a module that has a finite generating set. A finitely generated module over a ring R may also be called a finite R-module, finite over R, or a module of finite type.
In mathematics, the annihilator of a subset S of a module over a ring is the ideal formed by the elements of the ring that give always zero when multiplied by each element of S.
In mathematics, particularly in algebra, the class of projective modules enlarges the class of free modules over a ring, by keeping some of the main properties of free modules. Various equivalent characterizations of these modules appear below.
In algebraic geometry, divisors are a generalization of codimension-1 subvarieties of algebraic varieties. Two different generalizations are in common use, Cartier divisors and Weil divisors. Both are derived from the notion of divisibility in the integers and algebraic number fields.
In mathematics, specifically in ring theory, a torsion element is an element of a module that yields zero when multiplied by some non-zero-divisor of the ring. The torsion submodule of a module is the submodule formed by the torsion elements. A torsion module is a module that equals its torsion submodule. A module is torsion-free if its torsion submodule comprises only the zero element.
In mathematics, a Bézout domain is a form of a Prüfer domain. It is an integral domain in which the sum of two principal ideals is again a principal ideal. This means that for every pair of elements a Bézout identity holds, and that every finitely generated ideal is principal. Any principal ideal domain (PID) is a Bézout domain, but a Bézout domain need not be a Noetherian ring, so it could have non-finitely generated ideals ; if so, it is not a unique factorization domain (UFD), but still is a GCD domain. The theory of Bézout domains retains many of the properties of PIDs, without requiring the Noetherian property. Bézout domains are named after the French mathematician Étienne Bézout.
In mathematics, in the field of abstract algebra, the structure theorem for finitely generated modules over a principal ideal domain is a generalization of the fundamental theorem of finitely generated abelian groups and roughly states that finitely generated modules over a principal ideal domain (PID) can be uniquely decomposed in much the same way that integers have a prime factorization. The result provides a simple framework to understand various canonical form results for square matrices over fields.
In mathematics, a Prüfer domain is a type of commutative ring that generalizes Dedekind domains in a non-Noetherian context. These rings possess the nice ideal and module theoretic properties of Dedekind domains, but usually only for finitely generated modules. Prüfer domains are named after the German mathematician Heinz Prüfer.
In commutative algebra, an integrally closed domainA is an integral domain whose integral closure in its field of fractions is A itself. Spelled out, this means that if x is an element of the field of fractions of A which is a root of a monic polynomial with coefficients in A, then x is itself an element of A. Many well-studied domains are integrally closed: fields, the ring of integers Z, unique factorization domains and regular local rings are all integrally closed.
In mathematics, a noncommutative ring is a ring whose multiplication is not commutative; that is, there exist a and b in the ring such that ab and ba are different. Equivalently, a noncommutative ring is a ring that is not a commutative ring.
In mathematics, an overring of an integral domain contains the integral domain, and the integral domain's field of fractions contains the overring. Overrings provide an improved understanding of different types of rings and domains.
Module theory is the branch of mathematics in which modules are studied. This is a glossary of some terms of the subject.
In abstract algebra, a module M over a ring R is called torsionless if it can be embedded into some direct product RI. Equivalently, M is torsionless if each non-zero element of M has non-zero image under some R-linear functional f:
In mathematics, the Iwasawa algebra Λ(G) of a profinite group G is a variation of the group ring of G with p-adic coefficients that take the topology of G into account. More precisely, Λ(G) is the inverse limit of the group rings Zp(G/H) as H runs through the open normal subgroups of G. Commutative Iwasawa algebras were introduced by Iwasawa (1959) in his study of Zp extensions in Iwasawa theory, and non-commutative Iwasawa algebras of compact p-adic analytic groups were introduced by Lazard (1965).
This is a glossary of commutative algebra.
