Integral extension of a Jacobson ring Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-10-07
Every ring integral over a Jacobson ring is Jacobson. After quotienting by a prime, an integral equation for a nonzero element has nonzero constant term; choose a maximal ideal of the base avoiding that term and apply the Lying-over theorem.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2012 iii Paper 4 5 b Solution Created 2026-10-03 Updated 2026-10-07
A nilpotent element belongs to every prime ideal and therefore to every maximal ideal, soFor the reverse containment, let be nonnilpotent. The localization of a ring is nonzero: if there, some power of would annihilate in . This is still a finite-type integer algebra, because it can be presented as .
Choose a maximal ideal of . Its residue field is a finite-type integer algebra, hence finite by part (a). Consider the image of in . It is a finite integral domain containing , so it is a field: multiplication by a nonzero element is injective on the finite set , hence surjective, and therefore has an inverse in .
The kernel of is consequently maximal. The image of is nonzero, since became a unit in and remains a unit in its nonzero residue field. Thus . Every nonnilpotent element can therefore be avoided by a maximal ideal, givingThis radical equality for finitely generated integer algebras uses part (a) to ensure that the contraction of the localized maximal ideal is maximal. Such contraction is not generally maximal for arbitrary localization of a ring; the finite-field image is the decisive additional step. The zero ring is immediate, with the intersection of its empty set of maximal ideals understood as the whole ring. No general theorem that integer algebras are Jacobson rings is being quoted.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2016 iii Paper 101 2 Solution Created 2026-10-03 Updated 2026-10-06
The Weak Hilbert Nullstellensatz states that if is an algebraically closed field, every maximal ideal of isEquivalently, every proper ideal has a common zero. We prove the more general field statement, the Zariski lemma: a field finitely generated as a -algebra is a finite field extension of .
Write such a field as . Choose a maximal set of algebraically independent elements among these generators and denote the remaining generators by . Each is an algebraic element over , so is a finite field extension. Clearing the denominators in their monic equations, choose a nonzero such that each is an integral element overBecause is a field and , we have . Thus is an integral extension of .
A subring over which a field is integral must itself be a field. Indeed, for , an integral equation for multiplied by expresses as an element of . But if , the ring is not a field: choose an irreducible polynomial which does not divide . There are infinitely many monic irreducible polynomials in , by the usual product-plus-one argument, whereas only finitely many can divide the nonzero . The prime ideal stays proper after inverting , so has no inverse in . Therefore , proving that is a finite field extension, and in particular an algebraic field extension.
Apply the Zariski lemma to the residue field of a maximal ideal. When is an algebraically closed field, this field is itself. The images of then give , proving the Weak Hilbert Nullstellensatz.
For the real Laurent polynomial ring, the same argument applies because it is the finitely generated algebraEvery residue field at a maximal ideal is consequently a finite field extension of , and so is or . Here we use the fundamental theorem of algebra, which makes the algebraic closure of of degree two. The images of must be nonzero since these elements are units. It follows that the answer iswith and defining the same maximal ideal. If both coordinates are real, evaluation has image ; otherwise its image is . Thus every displayed kernel is maximal, and the Zariski lemma shows that this list is exhaustive.
For explicit generating sets of an ideal, there are three cases. For real nonzero ,If and with ,If with and , thenThe last two quotients are ; the nonzero coordinate condition ensures that the Laurent inverses exist in them. There are no further coincidences in the classification: equal kernels induce an -isomorphism between the evaluation image fields. The only -automorphisms of are the identity and complex conjugation, so the two pairs must agree or be conjugate.
To prove the intersection assertion, fix a prime ideal and an element . The integral domain has nonzero image . Its localization of a ring is nonzero and still a finitely generated algebra over , so it has a maximal ideal . By the Zariski lemma, the field is finite over .
The image of in is a subring containing and is a finite-dimensional -vector space. It is an integral domain, hence a field: multiplication by any nonzero element is an injective linear map of a finite-dimensional vector space and therefore surjective. The kernel of is thus a maximal ideal which avoids , since is invertible in . Its inverse image in is a maximal ideal containing but avoiding . As this works for every ,This is the Jacobson ring property for this Laurent polynomial ring.
For a nonzero finitely generated module , its set of associated primes isHere is the annihilator of the element. The Laurent polynomial ring is a Noetherian ring, so the nonempty collection of annihilators of nonzero elements of has a maximal member, say . It is proper because .
If and , then andMaximality forces , hence . Thus is a prime ideal, proving . This argument in fact only needs that is Noetherian, not the finite generation of .
A proper ideal is -primary when its radical of an ideal is andEquivalently, and imply ; equivalently, every zero divisor of is nilpotent. These formulations distinguish the actual primary ideal property from the weaker assertion that there is only one minimal prime ideal.
For the final example, set and . ThenSince is an integral domain, is a prime ideal. Moreover and , so . Consequently is the unique minimal prime ideal over .
Nevertheless , while and no power of belongs to . For the first assertion, reduce modulo : the image of is in , and is not a multiple of because is a nonunit in this integral domain. For the second, , so for every . Thus is not a -primary ideal: a unique minimal prime does not imply primary. In , the nonzero class of is killed by , a zero divisor which is not nilpotent.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2024 iii Paper 101 4 iv Solution Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-09-25
It is enough to prove that every prime ideal of is the intersection of the maximal ideals containing it. Replace byThe new extension is integral, both rings are domains, and the base remains a Jacobson ring.
Let . Choose an integral equation of least degreeAs above, . Since the zero ideal of is the intersection of its maximal ideals, choose a maximal ideal with . By the Lying-over theorem, some maximal ideal of contracts to . If , the integral equation would imply , a contradiction. Thus every nonzero is omitted by some maximal ideal, so their intersection is zero. Therefore is Jacobson, proving Integral extension of a Jacobson ring.
For a finite-type integer algebra, a nonnilpotent element gives a nonzero localization of a ring . A maximal ideal there has finite residue field by the finite-field theorem for finitely generated integer algebras. The image of in that field is a finite integral domain, hence a field. Its kernel is therefore maximal in and avoids . Nilpotents lie in every maximal ideal, proving the radical equality. Applying the same argument to every prime quotient shows that these algebras are Jacobson rings. Merely contracting a localized maximal ideal without the finite-image argument would not prove maximality.