Divisible module Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-10-03
Over an integral domain, a module is divisible when for every nonzero . A divisible group is precisely a divisible -module, and over a principal ideal domain divisibility is equivalent to injectivity.
The Fundamental theorem of finitely generated abelian groups writes with finite. Reduction modulo a prime contains , so a vanishing quotient forces . Conversely multiplication by a prime coprime to is bijective on . Finite generation matters: the nonzero divisible group satisfies for every prime and is not finitely generated, since any finite list of rational generators has a common denominator.
The Fundamental theorem of finitely generated abelian groups states that every such group is isomorphic to
with uniquely determined rank and invariant factors, allowing an empty finite part. Modulo , the free summand contributes . If for some prime, this forces , so is finite. Conversely, if is finite, choose a prime coprime to . Bezout's identity gives an integer with . Since kills every element, multiplication by is onto, with inverse multiplication by . Hence . This proves under finite generation.
For the requested nonzero example use the additive divisible group . Each rational equals , so for every prime. It is not finitely generated: a finite list of rational generators has a common denominator , and every integral combination then lies in . The rational does not lie there. This proves non-finite-generation directly and shows why the hypothesis in finite generation detected by a prime quotient is essential.
If omits a prime , then by part i. The reductions
separate its nonzero elements, so their restrictions separate the elements of . Thus is residually finite. If contains every prime, then , which has no nontrivial finite quotient because it is a divisible group.