Filtration of a ring ($F_{i}R{F}_{j}R\subseteq F_{i+j}R$)

A filtration of a ring is an exhaustive increasing family of additive subgroups $(F_{i}R{)}_{i\in \mathbb{Z}}$, with $1\in F_{0}R$ and the displayed multiplicativity condition. Its associated graded ring is ${⨁}_i{F}_{i}R/F_{i-1}R$. It differs from a probabilistic filtration, which is a nested family of sigma-algebras.

A negative filtration of a ring has $F_{i}R=R$ for nonnegative indices. It is complete and separated when the displayed map to the inverse limit is an isomorphism. Products make $F_{-q}R$ two-sided ideals. Series whose terms eventually belong to every $F_{-q}R$ converge. In particular, for $x\in F_{-1}R$ and $r\in R$, the geometric series ${\sum }_{j\ge 0}(xr{)}^j$ inverts $1-xr$, so the unit criterion for the Jacobson radical gives $F_{-1}R\subseteq J(R)$.

Lift finite homogeneous generators of the associated graded module of a right ideal $I$ to $x_i\in I$ of degrees $d_i$. Successive leading-symbol cancellations write an element $x\in F_{d}I$ as finite partial sums ${\sum }_i{x}_i{a}_i^{(q)}$ with residual in $F_{d-q}R$. The coefficient increments lie in $F_{d-q-d_i}R$ and therefore converge in the complete negative filtration. Multiplication is continuous, so their limits express $x$ as a finite sum ${\sum }_i{x}_i{a}_i$. This generates the actual right ideal and does not presuppose that it is closed. The left-sided statement is analogous.