Choose a -basis of and write
thereby identifying with . Let be the matrix whose th column is the coordinate vector of in this basis, for .
Write the multiplication table as
with fixed structure constants . Repeated multiplication shows that every entry of is a polynomial in . Hence
By the criterion supplied in the question,
Consequently
which is a distinguished open set, and therefore a Zariski-open set. This is the determinant construction showing that primitive elements form a principal Zariski-open set. No assertion that is nonzero is needed.
Zariski-open set Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-10-06
A Zariski-open set is the complement of a Zariski-closed set. A distinguished affine open has the form .