Solution

ID: past-exam-of-the-algebra-course-of-the-university-of-oxford/2008/a/2/solution

A composition series is a chain of submodules with every factor simple; its length is . Suppose is one of length two, and put .
For any nonzero proper submodule , either or , by simplicity of . In the first case, simplicity of forces . In the second, the quotient map embeds nontrivially into , so and its image is all of . Hence , and . Thus every nonzero proper submodule is simple and has simple quotient; every composition series has length two.
The Jordan–Hölder theorem states that any two composition series of a finite-length module have equal length and the same multiset of simple factors, up to isomorphism and order. The preceding argument proves this for length two: either , giving factors , or , giving factors .
The map , , is a surjective module homomorphism with kernel . The first isomorphism theorem for modules gives as left modules; need only be a left ideal. Every simple module is cyclic, since any nonzero generates a nonzero submodule. As a quotient of the finite-dimensional regular module , it is finite-dimensional. Extend to a composition series of ; its simple quotient is one of the factors. Jordan-Hölder shows that its isomorphism type belongs to the fixed finite list of factors of any one composition series of . Hence there are finitely many simple-module isomorphism types.
For the final assertion let be the image of . Its kernel is . We prove by induction on . It is true for . Projection onto the first factors is onto by induction. Its kernel on is a submodule of , so is zero or . If zero, . But its projection onto is onto, making a composition factor of that product, contrary to Jordan-Hölder and the pairwise distinct types. Thus the kernel is all of . Surjectivity on the first factors together with this kernel proves is the entire product. The first isomorphism theorem now gives
as left -modules, without asserting that the left ideals are two-sided.

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