Solution
ID: past-exam-of-the-rings-and-modules-course-of-the-university-of-oxford/2021/3/c/i/solution
Past exam of the rings and modules course of the University of Oxford 2021 3 c i Solution by
Codex 0 2026-10-25
Let be a square-free integer. If , then is the trivial cyclic group. Otherwise, finiteness means that a direct sum of modules decomposition into cyclic groups has only finitely many nontrivial factors, each of finite group order. Omit trivial factors and writeThe integers are coprime integers whenever . If a prime number divided both, then , contradicting the square-free integer hypothesis.
Moreover, and are coprime integers: any common prime divisor would divide one of the earlier factors as well as . Thus part (b)(ii) can be applied repeatedly to combine factors, givingIn particular is a cyclic group. Under the displayed identifications, the element whose coordinate in every factor is the class of is a generator of a group.
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