For a commutative ring , remove the section from . The two remaining standard charts have coordinate rings and inside the Laurent polynomial ring . Their intersection consists of constants: their monomial exponent regions are and , respectively. The Čech cohomology in degree one is free over on the missing monomials with . Equivalently its basis consists of the classes of for . Degree zero is and every degree at least two is zero. The charts and their intersection are affine schemes, so this computes sheaf cohomology. If is nonzero, the first sheaf cohomology is nonzero and this scheme is not an affine scheme.
Infinite cyclic cover associated to an epimorphism Created 2026-10-07 Updated 2026-10-14
The connected covering space corresponding to has deck transformation group . Choosing a deck generator makes its integral homology a module over the Laurent polynomial ring .
For the Integer Heisenberg group, choose , and central . Every element has a unique form , and . The group algebra is therefore the displayed skew Laurent polynomial ring, with . The base is a commutative Laurent polynomial ring and an integral domain; the skew Hilbert basis theorem gives both-sided Noetherianity and the leading coefficient of a product proves that there are no zero divisors.
Laurent monomial Created 2026-10-06 Updated 2026-10-07
A monomial allowing negative integer exponents in invertible variables. Finite sums of Laurent monomials form a Laurent polynomial ring. In a graded coordinate ring each has total degree .
Laurent normalization by a monomial change of variables Created 2026-10-06 Updated 2026-10-14
A nonzero quotient of an -variable Laurent polynomial ring is finite over an embedded Laurent polynomial ring in variables. Given a nonzero Laurent relation, choose so that weights separate its finite exponent support. The displayed invertible monomial substitution makes its extreme coefficients units in the remaining Laurent variables. Normalize the relation to a monic polynomial with unit constant term; both and are integral over the image of the -variable subring. Induction and transitivity of finite extensions prove the assertion, over finite fields as well as infinite fields. An infinite-dimensional quotient has .
Loop algebra 2026-10-14
The algebraic loop algebra of a Lie algebra over a field consists of finite Laurent polynomials with coefficients in . Its Lie bracket is , extended bilinearly. Alternation and the Jacobi identity follow from those of , since the Laurent polynomial ring is commutative. Appropriate smooth or formal completions give other loop-algebra variants; the affine current algebra adds a central extension to these Fourier modes. For the affine extension, see Kac and Wakimoto, Section 0.2.
Interpretation of the removed locus. Over , the notation specifies a section , with image . We remove this entire closed subscheme. This is the interpretation forced by the asserted open cover . Removing one closed point in a particular fiber would not give that open cover. The native PDF uses the same notation as the transcription.
Put , on . On put , . On their intersection and , giving coordinate rings
The Čech cochain complex for the structure sheaf, using increasing distinct indices, is
Thus is the intersection of the two subrings of , while is the quotient module of by their additive sum.
The Laurent polynomial ring is a free abelian group on the monomials with , . The first subring has the basis . The second has the basis
so its allowed exponents satisfy . A monomial belongs to both precisely when . The monomials belonging to neither satisfy and . Since the subgroups are spanned by subsets of the same basis, their sum introduces no other relations. Therefore
Here the square brackets denote cohomology classes, and the direct sums are as abelian groups. In particular, is a nonzero cohomology class. This scheme is a separated scheme, being an open subscheme of projective space over , and is a quasi-compact scheme by (d). Both charts and their intersection are affine schemes, so this Čech cohomology equals sheaf cohomology. The nonzero first sheaf cohomology of the quasi-coherent structure sheaf rules out an affine scheme:
The commutative Laurent polynomial ring is an integral domain and is invertible. Write nonzero elements as
The largest exponent in their product is , with coefficient
There is only one pair of exponents contributing at this degree, and the coefficient cannot vanish in the integral domain . Hence . Equivalently, forces or . This is skew Laurent extensions of domains are domains, and the argument works over the original field in any characteristic.
Use for the basis element of the group algebra , so and . The kernel of the augmentation map is the augmentation ideal . This algebra must not initially be identified with a Laurent polynomial ring: the additive group is not abstractly generated by the integer .
For , map onto and call its kernel . It is generated by for : differences of basis elements in one coset have the form . Since each such ,
by the characteristic- binomial identity. Thus .
The quotient group is a cyclic group of order , generated by the image of . Its group algebra is
The image of is and its th power vanishes, proving the reverse inclusion. Hence
This is cyclic finite quotients of the p-adic augmentation filtration.
For any , choose . The finite quotient then identifies with , a one-dimensional space generated by the image of . The degree-one symbol of consequently gives a surjective graded map , and no power of vanishes in its degree. Thus
The same finite quotients show that the I-adic completion is , and its associated graded ring is identical. The proof therefore covers the completed group algebra interpretation too, while proving the literal ordinary-algebra statement without assuming completion. Applying part ii to a ring would require its actual completeness, not just this polynomial associated graded ring.
The multiplicative algebraic group has coordinate ring . An algebraic morphism therefore sends the invertible coordinate on the target to a unit of this Laurent polynomial ring.
Every unit of has the form , with and . To prove this, suppose Laurent polynomials satisfy . Write their least and greatest active exponents as and . The least and greatest exponents in their product are and , since their endpoint coefficients are nonzero. Both must be zero. Consequently
so each factor has only one active exponent. This proves the asserted unit description.
Thus . A group homomorphism sends the identity to the identity, so and . Conversely, for every integer , including negative integers and zero, is regular on and satisfies . We obtain
These are exactly the characters of an algebraic torus in the one-dimensional case. The algebraic-morphism requirement is essential to the argument: the map must come from the Laurent coordinate ring.
Let be an oriented Seifert surface of genus for , and choose a basis of . Push a representative curve slightly in the positive normal direction to obtain . The Seifert matrix in our row convention is
The difference is the intersection form of F, up to the convention for its orientation; in a symplectic basis it is a direct sum of unimodular two-by-two skew blocks.
Write for the knot exterior. Linking number with K gives the epimorphism sending a positive meridian to one. Let be the associated infinite cyclic cover, with deck transformation t. The Alexander module of a knot is , regarded as a module over the Laurent polynomial ring . Its order, the greatest common divisor of the maximal presentation minors, is the Alexander polynomial of a knot, defined up to . Equivalently these minors generate its zeroth Fitting ideal; we will obtain a square presentation, so its determinant gives the order. No assertion that is a principal ideal domain is needed.
Here is the Seifert-matrix presentation of the Alexander module with its topological justification. Cut X along F, obtaining a connected manifold Y with two boundary copies and . Up to collars this is the complement of a thickening of F in . Alexander duality gives and the perfect linking pairing with . Choose generators satisfying . This homology statement does not require Y to be a handlebody. The two inclusions satisfy
Indeed the first coefficients are the defining positive linking numbers; for the second, moving the two curves to opposite sides and using symmetry of linking gives .
Stack copies of Y, identifying the positive copy of F in one layer with the negative copy in the next. This is . The Mayer–Vietoris sequence, with all translates collected into Laurent modules, contains
The last map is injective because is an integral domain. Thus the entire Alexander module is presented by the row relations (transpose the matrix if using column vectors). At its determinant is , so the determinant is nonzero and the module is a torsion module. Consequently
where denotes equality up to a Laurent unit. The second conclusion follows because a determinant of size with entries linear in t has breadth at most ; minimize over Seifert surfaces.
For the displayed diagram, start on the outer lower arc near the lower left undercrossing and follow the arc through the lower outer loop toward the upper right undercrossing. Number successive undercrossings , and let label the incoming arc at crossing . Reading the overpassing arcs and the conjugation exponents in a consistent meridian convention gives
Thus the Wirtinger presentation relations are , with indices modulo ten. Their Fox derivatives after abelianization give row relations
Delete the redundant last relation and the last column, setting . This is a nine-generator presentation of the Alexander module. The cofactor determinant is ; here is a smaller elimination check. Retain . Seven relations solve the other generators as
The two remaining rows, at undercrossings two and seven, are the matrix
Its determinant is , differing from the original cofactor only by a Laurent unit. Consequently
The factor has value one at and is reciprocal, as required. Its Conway-normalized Alexander polynomial is , and its knot determinant is three.
For the genus upper bound, the over/under Gauss code from the same traversal is
Number these visits . The oriented smoothing permutation of a Gauss code has cycles
There are seven Seifert circles, so the Seifert algorithm gives ten bands and seven disks: , hence . The Alexander breadth bound on Seifert genus supplies the matching lower bound from breadth four. Therefore .
Modulo two, the primitive Alexander polynomial becomes . It has neither zero nor one as a root, and it is not , the only possible product of irreducible monic quadratics over . It is therefore irreducible over , hence over and by Gauss lemma for polynomials. The full-degree irreducible Alexander polynomial implies a prime knot criterion now applies, since its breadth is exactly twice the genus. Thus the knot is prime. The full-degree condition is needed to rule out a nontrivial summand with unit Alexander polynomial.
To test reflection, calculate the Jones polynomial from the same crossing data. The diagram has nine positive crossings and one negative crossing, so its writhe of a link diagram is eight. Enumerate the bracket smoothing states, join their smoothed ends, and weight each state by . Correct by and put . This gives
As checks, and . The Jones polynomial of a mirror is , which differs from this polynomial. Therefore the knot is not equivalent to its reflection. Reversing all crossing conventions reciprocates the displayed Jones polynomial and leaves the conclusion unchanged.
Let F be an oriented genus-g Seifert surface for K, and choose a basis of . Push a representative curve slightly in the positive normal direction to obtain . The Seifert matrix in our row convention is
The difference is the intersection form of F, up to the convention for its orientation; in a symplectic basis it is a direct sum of unimodular two-by-two skew blocks.
Write for the knot exterior. Linking number with K gives the epimorphism sending a positive meridian to one. Let be the associated infinite cyclic cover, with deck transformation t. The Alexander module of a knot is , regarded as a module over the Laurent polynomial ring . Its order, the greatest common divisor of the maximal presentation minors, is the Alexander polynomial of a knot, defined up to . Equivalently these minors generate its zeroth Fitting ideal; we will obtain a square presentation, so its determinant gives the order. No assertion that is a principal ideal domain is needed.
Here is the Seifert-matrix presentation of the Alexander module with its topological justification. Cut X along F, obtaining a connected manifold Y with two boundary copies and . Up to collars this is the complement of a thickening of F in . Alexander duality gives and the perfect linking pairing with . Choose generators satisfying . This homology statement does not require Y to be a handlebody. The two inclusions satisfy
Indeed the first coefficients are the defining positive linking numbers; for the second, moving the two curves to opposite sides and using symmetry of linking gives .
Stack copies of Y, identifying the positive copy of F in one layer with the negative copy in the next. This is . The Mayer–Vietoris sequence, with all translates collected into Laurent modules, contains
The last map is injective because is an integral domain. Thus the entire Alexander module is presented by the row relations (transpose the matrix if using column vectors). At its determinant is , so the determinant is nonzero and the module is torsion. Consequently
where denotes equality up to a Laurent unit. The second conclusion follows because a determinant of size with entries linear in t has breadth at most ; minimize over Seifert surfaces.
For the displayed knot we give a reproducible diagram calculation. Label its ten crossings A through J as follows: A and B are the two upper crossings from left to right; C,D,E are the next three crossings in descending order; F is the crossing below E on the almost vertical strand; G is the left crossing of the bottom loop; H,I,J are the remaining three bottom crossings from left to right. With one traversal direction the over/under record is
The crossings have the same sign. Choose the meridian/deck convention giving the conjugation relation below; the opposite convention replaces t by and gives the same reciprocal polynomial up to a unit.
Number the undercrossings in the order , starting at zero, and let be the incoming arc at undercrossing k. The overpassing arc numbers are
The Wirtinger presentation has , with indices modulo ten. Its lifted cellular boundaries, or equivalently Fox derivatives, give the Alexander relation matrix
Delete the redundant final relation and the last column: the resulting matrix presents the Alexander module on the nine relative arc generators. To make the determinant check transparent, set , , and . Eliminating unit pivots reduces this nine-generator presentation to
For example, writing the relative generators as , the eliminated relations give , , , , , , and . The two remaining relations are precisely the rows of N. Hence
As a second determinant check, the unreduced nine-by-nine cofactor of M is . The polynomial has value one at and is reciprocal, as required.
For the genus upper bound, the oriented smoothing has seven Seifert circles. This can also be checked from the traversal record: number its twenty entries starting at one; smoothing sends an incoming visit to the entry following its other visit to the same crossing. The cycles are , , , , , , and . The Seifert algorithm therefore gives seven disks and ten bands, so and . The Alexander breadth is four, so the Alexander breadth bound on Seifert genus gives the matching lower bound. Thus .
Finally, modulo two the primitive polynomial becomes . It has neither zero nor one as a root. The only monic irreducible quadratic over is , whose square is , so the quartic is irreducible. Reduction modulo two therefore proves irreducibility over the rationals and, by primitivity, over and . If K were a sum of two nontrivial knots, additivity of Seifert genus would force both summands to have genus one. Their Alexander polynomials multiply, so irreducibility would make one polynomial a unit and the other equal to this breadth-four polynomial, contradicting the breadth-at-most-two bound for genus one. This uses the full-degree irreducible Alexander polynomial implies a prime knot criterion, rather than irreducibility alone. Therefore K is prime.
The dense algebraic torus has coordinate ring , a Laurent polynomial ring and hence a unique factorization domain. Its divisor class group is therefore zero. Restrict an arbitrary Weil divisor to the algebraic torus and choose a rational function on an algebraic variety whose divisor there is . Then is supported on the algebraic torus boundary. The prime divisors in that boundary are precisely the corresponding to the toric rays, by the torus orbit-cone correspondence. Consequently
Since the variety is smooth, every Weil divisor is Cartier. This gives invariant representatives for all divisor classes, without assuming that the original divisor was invariant.
Now use such a representative. The associated vector space is
The principal divisor on a toric variety formula gives . Define the lattice polytope of a toric divisor
For a maximal toric cone , its basic toric ray vectors are a basis of , so there is a unique integral with on its toric rays. The algebraic torus character is a local frame for on . Every global section restricts on the algebraic torus to a finite Laurent polynomial . Relative to this frame, regularity on means . Since distinct algebraic torus characters are independent, this holds exactly when each exponent with nonzero coefficient satisfies the inequalities for the toric rays of . Taking all charts proves
Completeness makes bounded when nonempty: a nonzero recession vector would be nonnegative on every toric ray of a complete toric fan, and therefore on all of , which is impossible. The displayed space is consequently finite-dimensional.
At the torus-fixed point in the smooth chart , a section has local monomial . Its value is nonzero exactly when this monomial is constant, namely when . Thus if the complete linear system of a divisor has no base point, some section is nonzero at , forcing . Conversely, if for every maximal toric cone, its algebraic torus character is a global section whose local expression on is one. It therefore vanishes nowhere on that whole chart, and these charts cover . This proves the toric basepoint-free criterion:
The analogous toric ampleness criterion, stated without proof, replaces the inequalities off by strict ones:
Equivalently, the normal fan of a polytope is exactly .
For the final fan subdivision, take so that is a new toric ray, as the construction requires. The vectors are a lattice basis, so their sum is primitive. Replacing any one basis vector by this sum gives another basis. Thus the star subdivision gives a smooth toric blowup at a torus-fixed point , with algebraic exceptional divisor . On the old chart, a local equation of is , whose order on the new toric ray is . All old toric ray coefficients are unchanged. Therefore
We prove ampleness of directly by inequalities, giving the ample divisor after blowing up a torus-fixed point result.
Let be the basis of dual to . On the new maximal toric cone , which omits , the required local algebraic torus character is
Indeed its pairings on , , are , while its pairing on is , exactly the negative of the new coefficient . Its inequality on the omitted old toric ray has strict gap one:
For any toric ray outside the original toric cone, put . The original ampleness gives positive integers , and the new strict gaps are
for all sufficiently large .
For any unchanged maximal toric cone , the local algebraic torus character is . All strict inequalities on old toric rays follow from those for . Its inequality on the new toric ray has gap
Each summand is nonnegative, and at least one is positive because cannot contain all its toric rays. Hence is a positive integer, making this gap positive for . There are only finitely many remaining inequalities. For example, any integer satisfying
works, with the inner maximum omitted when its index set is empty. The toric ampleness criterion now gives
The new-ray assumption is essential to the printed construction. In dimension one, and the fan subdivision is unchanged, so the two purported distinct divisors coincide. If the displayed definition of is applied literally on with coefficients , , then has degree one but has degree , contradicting the conclusion. The argument above applies to the intended blowup in dimension at least two.
The map is a homogeneous Laurent polynomial ring homomorphism between the two rank-one infinity towers. Choose homogeneous generators with absolute degrees . Its degree is
Consequently the general graded-module description is
If the grading does not allow an integer exponent, the map is zero. Negative exponents are allowed in the infinity theory. The notation here denotes the map called in the question.
The standard topological statements for Heegaard Floer cobordism maps, which require no proof in this part, are
In the second case and the map is therefore with the exponent determined by the displayed degree formula. Since both boundary components are rational homology spheres, the rational intersection form is nondegenerate, so means that it is negative definite, allowing also the rank-zero form.
The printed hypothesis does not imply . Thus one must not replace the second implication by an unconditional isomorphism assertion for every negative-definite cobordism. A concrete check is . It has and . A one-handle followed by a three-handle gives and then kills the summand; hence its infinity map is zero. Its grading shift is one, also incompatible with a nonzero map between the even-graded towers. With only the stated boundary assumption, the general homogeneous Laurent-module description and the two topological implications above are the valid conclusions; determining any remaining coefficient requires the actual cobordism, not just its boundary Betti numbers.
Use generators for the three one-handles in the generalized Heegaard diagram. Read a downward crossing of the cut from a left-hand hole to its right-hand partner as the corresponding generator. Traverse the attaching curve around the left-hand hole, starting at its outgoing downward strand, and then traverse the attaching curve around the left-hand hole in the same way. Their cut-crossing words are
These are the two relators imposed by the two handle attachments. The remaining boundary is a torus; no third relator should be added. The fundamental group presentation is therefore
The exponent-sum vectors are and . Thus the abelianization is , with all mapping to its positive generator .
Apply the Fox derivatives and then this abelianization. The resulting Alexander matrix is
For example, the three occurrences of in contribute to the first entry. Every row sums to zero, as the Fox calculus identity predicts.
The cellular boundary in degree one for the infinite cyclic cover is . Its kernel is freely generated by . Expressing the two relation boundaries in this basis gives the two-by-two matrix obtained by deleting column of . Its determinant is the order of the Alexander module of a space. Equivalently, all three maximal matrix minors of agree up to sign. The Alexander polynomial is
where allows multiplication by a unit in the Laurent polynomial ring. Its value at is .
The key is a Laurent normalization by a monomial change of variables. We prove the slightly stronger assertion that every nonzero quotient of a Laurent polynomial ring in variables is finite as a module over an embedded Laurent polynomial ring in some number of variables.
Induct on . If the defining ideal is zero, the ring itself works. Otherwise choose a nonzero Laurent polynomial
in that ideal, with nonzero coefficients. For a sufficiently large positive integer , the weights
are distinct for all . Indeed, each difference gives a nonzero polynomial in , which has only finitely many integer roots. Make the invertible monomial substitution
Its inverse is , so it is an automorphism of the Laurent polynomial ring. When there is no substitution and distinct exponents already give distinct weights.
As a Laurent polynomial in , the transformed relation has unique lowest and highest exponents. Their coefficients are nonzero scalar multiples of monomials in , hence units in
Multiplying by a power of and the inverse leading coefficient gives
Here : a single-term Laurent polynomial would be a unit and the quotient would be zero. Reversing the equation and dividing by gives a monic equation for . Thus both and are integral over the image of in . In fact being a unit also expresses as a polynomial in , so is generated as a -module by .
The ring is itself a nonzero quotient of an -variable Laurent polynomial ring. By induction, it is finite over an embedded Laurent polynomial ring in variables. Finiteness of modules is transitive, so the same is true of ; a finite ring extension is an integral extension, by the determinant trick applied to multiplication by an element.
Applying this to yields an embedded subring
The base case means the subring ; finiteness over it would make a finite-dimensional vector space. The hypothesis excludes this, so , as required. No infinitude assumption on is used.
The Laurent polynomial ring is a localization of a ring:
The Hilbert basis theorem makes a Noetherian ring, and Localization of a Noetherian ring preserves this property. Thus .
For separating finite Laurent support by an integer weight, take a nonzero Laurent polynomial and let be its finite set of exponent pairs with nonzero coefficients. Choose an integer such that
where the maximum is zero if has only one member. Set . If , then
so and then . Consequently all powers of in are distinct. The linear independence of the Laurent monomials prevents cancellation, giving
The choice depends on the finite support of ; a single fixed substitution need not detect every nonzero element.
For Noetherianity of subalgebras of a one-variable Laurent polynomial ring, let be a unital -subalgebra of . If , it is already a Noetherian ring. Otherwise we find a nonconstant and an ambient ring containing such that is a finitely generated module over .
If , choose a nonconstant polynomial in , where . Then is an integral element over , since it satisfies the monic polynomial equation
Thus is a finitely generated module over , generated by . The case is identical after replacing by .
In the remaining case is contained in neither of these two polynomial rings. There is an element with a positive exponent and an element with a negative exponent. If either already has both, use it as . Otherwise their sum has both, since the positive powers of the first and the negative powers of the second cannot cancel. We obtain
Multiplying this identity by gives a polynomial equation for with leading coefficient :
Dividing by makes it monic. Similarly, multiplication by gives a monic equation for after division by . Both generators are therefore integral elements over , so is a finitely generated module over .
In all three cases is a Noetherian ring, as a quotient of a one-variable polynomial ring. The subalgebra is also a -submodule, so it is a Noetherian module. Every ideal of is a -submodule of and is therefore finitely generated over , hence over . This proves
For the final request, take the following subalgebra of the two-variable Laurent polynomial ring:
Let , an ideal of . We have
as -vector spaces. In particular, the classes of , for , are linearly independent. If had finitely many generators as an -module, their classes would span over , contradicting its infinite dimension. Hence is not finitely generated and is not a Noetherian ring. This illustrates why the preceding result is special to one Laurent variable.
The Weak Hilbert Nullstellensatz states that if is an algebraically closed field, every maximal ideal of is
Equivalently, 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 over
Because 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 algebra
Every 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 is
with 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 , then
The 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 is
Here 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 and
Maximality 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 and
Equivalently, 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 . Then
Since 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.
Trefoil knot Created 2026-09-28 Updated 2026-10-14
The trefoil is the torus knot . It is the simplest nontrivial knot by crossing number of a knot: . A standard three-crossing alternating knot diagram is reduced, so the Tait crossing-number theorem establishes minimality. The four-crossing knot diagram shown below also represents the trefoil knot, illustrating that a particular projection need not achieve that minimum. Its Seifert genus is one.
Here is a small algebraic certificate that a trefoil knot cannot be deformed into an unknot. One Seifert matrix for a trefoil knot is
Taking the determinant gives the Alexander polynomial of a knot
where allows multiplication by a Laurent unit in the Laurent polynomial ring. No such multiplication turns this three-term Alexander polynomial of a knot into the unknot's value . Since the Alexander polynomial of a knot is a knot invariant, this computation rules out every possible ambient isotopy between the two knots; it does not merely rule out the deformations we happened to try.
The knot group supplies another certificate. The presentation maps onto the symmetric group by and , since both sides of the relation map to the identity. These images generate a non-abelian group, so the knot group cannot be the unknot's infinite cyclic group. However, a trefoil knot and its mirror of a link have isomorphic knot groups: the abstract knot group alone does not distinguish all knots.
In , the ideal has radical of an ideal , a prime ideal, and hence a unique minimal prime ideal. Nevertheless , , and for all , so is not a primary ideal. The same example works after adjoining inverses of and ; thus it also gives an example in a two-variable Laurent polynomial ring.