Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2005 iii Paper 85 4 b Solution 2026-10-14
Suppose . Among the right ideals such that , choose a minimal one; the set is nonempty since . The right ideal lies in , and , so minimality forces . Choose with . Then , and , so the same minimality gives .
Since and , its generator satisfies for an element . Thus . The unit criterion for the Jacobson radical makes invertible, implying , contrary to . Therefore , andThe minimal-right-ideal proof of radical nilpotence is important here: one cannot apply the finite-generator form of Nakayama lemma directly to before proving it finitely generated. We made a suitable auxiliary right ideal cyclic before using the unit argument.