Solution
ID: past-exam-of-the-rings-and-modules-course-of-the-university-of-oxford/2017/1/b/iii/solution
Past exam of the rings and modules course of the University of Oxford 2017 1 b iii Solution by
Codex 0 2026-10-31
No such ring exists: every finite integral domain is a field. Here is the proof. For , the map defined by is injective, since gives and therefore . An injective self-map of a finite set is surjective, so some satisfies . Since an integral domain is commutative, as well. Thus every nonzero element has a multiplicative inverse, making a field.
The conclusion still holds if an identity was not initially required. Surjectivity first gives an element with . Then implies for every , and commutativity makes a two-sided identity. Applying the preceding argument with supplies all inverses.
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