If is a left Noetherian ring and a right Noetherian ring, and is a poly-(cyclic or finite) group, then satisfies both chain conditions. Induct along the subnormal series. A finite factor gives a finite free extension on each side, handled by finite-module extension preserves Noetherianity. An infinite cyclic factor gives a skew Laurent polynomial ring, with the twisting automorphism induced by conjugation by a lift of the cyclic generator. The noncommutative Hilbert basis theorem and clearing negative powers prove the required chain conditions at that step. In particular is Noetherian.
Use unital rings, and distinguish left and right Noetherianity. A useful form of the noncommutative Hilbert basis theorem is the following: if a ring is generated by a subring and an element , if , and if is a right Noetherian ring, then is a right Noetherian ring. The corresponding left-handed statement holds as well. In particular, a central polynomial ring over a Noetherian ring is Noetherian, and a skew polynomial ring of an automorphism preserves either side's Noetherianity.
Here is a proof of the general right-handed statement. Put and
The equality follows inductively from . These groups form an exhaustive ascending filtration, stable under multiplication by on either side, with . For any and , moving coefficients one step at a time also gives
Fix a right ideal of and define coefficient sets
Each is a right ideal of . Additive closure is immediate. If and , use the preceding transport identity to obtain
Here has this membership because is a right ideal and is stable under right multiplication by . Also , by multiplying on the right by . The ascending chain condition in yields with for .
For each , choose finite right generators of and lifts with . These finitely many lifts generate as a right ideal of . To prove this, let and write , . Then . Put and write . Transport each coefficient as with . Consequently
Induction on , with , expresses in the right ideal generated by the lifts. Every right ideal is therefore finitely generated, proving the theorem. Passing to the opposite ring proves the left-handed version. This proof does not require unique coefficient normal forms.
A poly-(cyclic or finite) group has a finite subnormal series
whose factors are cyclic or finite. Normality is required between consecutive terms. We show inductively that each group ring is both a left Noetherian ring and a right Noetherian ring.
The starting ring is Noetherian, since every ideal is principal. The other module fact we use is that a finitely generated module over a Noetherian ring on the relevant side is a Noetherian module: it is a quotient of a finite direct sum of regular modules, and the ascending chain condition passes to finite sums and quotients. For a finite sum this follows by induction, comparing the intersections of a chain with one summand and its images in the quotient by that summand.
If has finite index, choosing coset representatives shows that is finite free as a left and as a right -module. By finite-module extension preserves Noetherianity, every one-sided ideal of is finitely generated already as a -module, and those same generators generate it as a -ideal. Thus either chain condition passes through a finite factor.
If is infinite cyclic, choose lifting its generator. Every element of has a unique form , and conjugation by gives an automorphism of . Hence
For the polynomial subring , the condition follows from invertibility of , so the proved noncommutative Hilbert basis theorem makes Noetherian on both sides. A right ideal of the skew Laurent polynomial ring is generated by : for any , choose large enough that , and recover . Finite generators of over therefore generate over the Laurent ring. Left multiplication by a large power of proves the left-handed statement. These are the Laurent-extension facts used in the induction.
Every factor of the subnormal series is covered by one of these two cases. Therefore
The argument proves the more general result that group rings of poly-(cyclic or finite) groups are Noetherian over any coefficient ring satisfying both chain conditions.
Here is a noncommutative Hilbert basis theorem proof adapted to the stated hypothesis. Set and
The equality follows inductively from , by moving one coefficient past one at a time. These spaces form an exhaustive filtered algebra structure on , with . This does not assert uniqueness of the displayed expressions or the existence of a coefficient-moving automorphism.
For a right ideal , define
Each is a right ideal of . In fact, if and , write with , ; then . Also by right multiplication by . Since is a right Noetherian ring, this ascending chain stabilizes at some .
Choose finite generators for each , , and choose with . These finitely many elements generate as a right ideal. To see this, induct on for . Write with ; then . Put and express . Write with . The difference
lies in , so the induction applies. At the remainder is zero. Hence is right Noetherian.
For the quantum torus, take and the convention . Begin with the polynomial ring , which is Noetherian by the Hilbert basis theorem. Adjoining preserves the hypothesis because it commutes with , and gives . Adjoin next. The relation and its inverse coefficient-moving relation give for . Finally adjoin to , where . On a monomial, ; when this is in , and when it is in . The reverse inclusion follows by the same relation. The preceding argument applies at each step, proving the quantum torus is right Noetherian. Nonzero is required for this notation.
For a noncommutative ring, a prime ideal of a noncommutative ring means a proper two-sided ideal such that for two-sided ideals implies or . Equivalently, implies or . This definition does not require to be a noncommutative domain.
Retain the right Noetherian ring hypothesis for the last assertion. More generally, the ascending chain condition on two-sided ideals suffices. We claim that every proper two-sided ideal contains a product of finitely many prime ideals of a noncommutative ring, each containing . If not, choose a maximal counterexample . It cannot be a prime ideal of a noncommutative ring. Thus there are two-sided ideals strictly containing with : add to the two witnesses for failure of the defining condition for a prime ideal of a noncommutative ring. By maximality, both and contain products of finitely many prime ideals of a noncommutative ring containing them. Concatenating these products gives a product inside , a contradiction.
Apply the claim to in a nonzero , obtaining . Every prime ideal of a noncommutative ring contains one of the , by repeated application of the definition of a prime ideal of a noncommutative ring. For the prime radical of a noncommutative ring , it follows that
Indeed, gives , and for every gives equality of the intersections. If , the empty intersection is the whole zero ring and the conclusion is immediate.
The final assertion is false for arbitrary algebras without the preceding chain condition. For example, in the commutative ring the nilradical is , its only prime ideal, but the product of any number of distinct is nonzero. Thus this nilradical is not a nilpotent ideal.
Quantum torus Created 2026-10-05 Updated 2026-10-14
The two-dimensional quantum torus is the algebra with invertible generators and relation , for . Its basis consists of with , with the same multiplication rule as the quantum plane. It is a right Noetherian ring: successive adjunction of , , and satisfies the hypotheses of the noncommutative Hilbert basis theorem.
Skew polynomial ring of an automorphism Created 2026-10-14 Updated 2026-10-20
For an automorphism of a unital ring , this ring consists of finite sums , with multiplication determined by . Both left and right coefficient normal forms are available because is invertible. The noncommutative Hilbert basis theorem implies that it is a right Noetherian ring when is, and a left Noetherian ring when is. Invertibility of matters in this two-sided formulation.