Ring/New page

Not to be confused with a ring of sets

Definition

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

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

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

---

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

---

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

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

---

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

---

Further properties of elementary rings

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

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

Giving us the following 4 types of elementary rings:

1. Ring - properties 1-7
2. Ring with unity (AKA: u-ring) - 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