The intersection of maximal left ideals is the intersection of annihilators of simple modules on the left, hence is a two-sided ideal. If belongs to it, has a left inverse for every . Its left inverse also differs from by a radical element and has a left inverse; this makes the original inverse two-sided. The identity then shows that is invertible too. If were outside a maximal right ideal , one would have for some , a contradiction. Applying the same argument to the opposite ring proves equality.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2001 iii Paper 2 1 i Solution Created 2026-10-03 Updated 2026-10-14
Put , and . The multiplication of matrix-coordinate triples is . In particular is central, , and every element has the unique normal form . ConsequentlyThe distinct normal-form monomials are the group basis, so this is an isomorphism, not merely a surjection from a presented algebra. This is the integral Heisenberg group algebra as a skew Laurent ring.
Here is the needed skew Hilbert basis theorem, including its proof. If is a left Noetherian ring and an automorphism, let be a left ideal of , where . DefineThese are left ideals of : adding lifts adds the coefficient, and left multiplication by multiplies its normalized value by . Multiplication of a lift by proves . The chain stabilizes at some . Choose finite generators for each , , and lifts with coefficient .
For of degree , write its normalized leading coefficient as . Thenhas smaller degree: the displayed summands have leading coefficients . For use the generators for without the shift. Induction on degree expresses every element of in terms of the finitely many chosen lifts. Thus is a left Noetherian ring. Passing to the opposite ring replaces by and proves the corresponding right-sided result.
This proof includes the ordinary Hilbert basis theorem when is the identity. Starting with the field , it makes Noetherian; localization at powers of makes Noetherian as well. Finally, for a left ideal in , its intersection with has finitely many generators. For each , some lies in , so is generated by those same elements in the skew Laurent polynomial ring. Right multiplication clears powers for a right ideal. Therefore is a left Noetherian ring and a right Noetherian ring.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2005 iii Paper 85 1 Solution Created 2026-10-03 Updated 2026-10-14
Take rings and modules to be unital. Let denote the intersection of the maximal left ideals. For each nonzero vector of a simple module on the left, the map , , is onto and its kernel is a maximal left ideal. Consequently annihilates every simple module on the left. Conversely, annihilating forces an element to belong to the maximal left ideal . Thuswhich shows that is a two-sided ideal.
For and , the left ideal cannot be proper: a containing maximal left ideal would also contain and hence . Therefore for some . Here also differs from by an element of , so it too has a left inverse . Multiplying the first equality by gives ; hence . We have proved that is a unit, not just left invertible.
The identityis verified by multiplying on either side, using . It implies that is a unit as well. If were outside a maximal right ideal , then , so for some . A proper right ideal cannot contain a unit, giving a contradiction. Thus belongs to every maximal right ideal. Applying the same argument to the opposite ring proves the reverse inclusion. This proves the Jacobson radical is independent of handedness:For the zero ring the intersections are interpreted as the whole ring, so the equality remains valid.
If a two-sided ideal satisfies , then for and , . The finite geometric series inverts . The unit criterion for the Jacobson radical, also proved above by the maximal-ideal argument, gives . This assertion concerns a nilpotent ideal; arbitrary nilpotent elements of a noncommutative ring need not lie in its Jacobson radical.
For the formal power series ring over the p-adic integers, a series is a unit exactly when is a unit of . Necessity follows by comparing constant coefficients. If is invertible, construct the inverse recursively by and . Therefore the nonunits are exactly the series whose constant coefficient lies in . They form the unique maximal ideal , and the quotient is . Hence
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2005 iii Paper 85 6 Solution 2026-10-14
The Bernstein inequality for Weyl algebra modules requires characteristic zero: for a nonzero finitely generated left or right module over ,Equivalently, its Bernstein growth dimension of a Weyl algebra module is at least . Without the characteristic-zero hypothesis this is false, as the module in part (c) has dimension zero in the growth sense. The proof below works over any characteristic-zero field, not just an algebraically closed one.
For a left module, choose a nonzero finite-dimensional generating subspace and put , where is the Bernstein filtration. Ordered monomials giveMultiplication defines the linear action mapWe prove this map injective by induction on , which is the essential faithful finite-step action of a Weyl algebra argument. For , an element is a scalar, and a scalar killing is zero. Suppose kills . For any generator and , both and vanish because and . Thus kills , so induction gives for every generator. By the explicit commutator formulas in part (a), commuting with all forces all positive exponents of to vanish, and commuting with all forces all positive exponents to vanish. Characteristic zero is used to cancel the nonzero integer exponents. Hence is scalar and, because it kills , is zero. This proves injectivity.
Taking dimensions yieldsThe left side is asymptotic to . Consequently for all sufficiently large and some . Taking logarithms and the limsup in the definition of Gelfand–Kirillov dimension of a module proves the claimed lower bound. For a good Bernstein filtration, the associated graded module is finite over ; its cumulative Hilbert function is eventually polynomial, and the same comparison says its degree is at least .
For right modules, use the opposite ring isomorphism sending to and to . It respects the Bernstein filtration, so the identical estimate applies. The bound is sharp: the polynomial module , generated by , has equal to the polynomials of degree at most , of dimension . Its Gelfand–Kirillov dimension of a module is exactly .
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2007 iii Paper 6 1 Solution Created 2026-10-03 Updated 2026-10-14
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 andThe 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 givesFix a right ideal of and define coefficient setsEach is a right ideal of . Additive closure is immediate. If and , use the preceding transport identity to obtainHere 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 . ConsequentlyInduction 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 serieswhose 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 . HenceFor 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. ThereforeThe 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.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2007 iii Paper 6 4 Solution Created 2026-10-03 Updated 2026-10-14
The ring form of the Artin–Wedderburn theorem states that the following conditions on a unital ring are equivalent: is a semisimple ring; satisfies the descending chain condition on left ideals and ; andwhere is finite, each , and each is a division ring. The factors are unique up to permutation and isomorphism. The zero ring may be included as the empty product. This theorem also implies the corresponding right-handed statements.
First prove the implication from the chain condition and zero Jacobson radical. Among finite intersections of maximal left ideals, choose a minimal one, say . Such a minimal intersection exists by the descending chain condition. Intersecting with any other maximal left ideal cannot make smaller, so is contained in every maximal left ideal. Thus . It follows that the map of left modulesis injective. Each quotient is a simple module.
For completeness, a submodule of a finite direct sum of simple modules is itself a finite direct sum of simple modules and is a direct summand of . Choose a sum of coordinate summands, maximal among those with . For any omitted coordinate summand , simplicity gives or . In the first case , contradicting maximality; hence every coordinate summand lies in . Therefore . Projection onto shows is a finite sum of images of the , each image zero or simple. Add these images successively, discarding any image already in the sum: simplicity makes each new intersection zero. This yields a direct-sum decomposition. Applying this argument to the displayed injection proves that the left regular module is a finite sum of simple modules.
Conversely, if the regular module is a direct sum of simple modules, that sum is finite because lies in a finite subsum and generates the whole regular module. Every left ideal, being a submodule, has the preceding decomposition and splitting property. Its chain lengths are bounded by the number of simple summands, so the descending chain condition holds. The Jacobson radical annihilates every simple summand of the regular module, hence annihilates and is zero. This identifies the first two conditions.
Write the finite decomposition using pairwise nonisomorphic simple left modules:Every simple module is a quotient of , by sending to any nonzero vector, so this list includes every simple isomorphism class. The Schur lemma gives for , and is a division ring: any nonzero endomorphism has zero kernel and full image by simplicity. ConsequentlyEvery endomorphism of the left regular module is right multiplication by its value on . Composition reverses multiplication of those values, so the left side is . Taking the opposite ring, and using transpose to identify with , gives the theorem's decomposition with . This keeps the left/right conventions explicit.
Conversely, the standard column module over is simple: a nonzero coordinate of a vector can be inverted to construct a matrix sending it to any prescribed vector. The left regular module decomposes as the sum of its column ideals, each isomorphic to . A finite product of these matrix rings is therefore a semisimple ring. This proves all implications. For uniqueness, the isomorphism classes of simple modules and their multiplicities in the regular module determine the numbers and the division rings . The multiplicity can also be recovered as the dimension of as a right -module, so it does not depend on the chosen decomposition.
Now let for the finite group . It has dimension , with the elements of as a basis, so its left ideals satisfy the descending chain condition by their dimensions. The permitted assumption makes the Artin–Wedderburn theorem applicable. Its decomposition is a complex-algebra decompositionwith each finite-dimensional over the central copy of . Each such division algebra is just . Indeed, for , finite dimensionality gives a nonzero polynomial relation with complex coefficients. Factor into linear factors over . Their product at is zero, so the absence of zero divisors forces for some scalar root . Thus every element is scalar.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2007 iii Paper 6 5 Solution Created 2026-10-03 Updated 2026-10-14
An almost commutative algebra over has an exhaustive nonnegative increasing multiplicative ascending filtrationfor which the associated graded ringis a commutative finitely generated complex algebra. This includes the customary degree filtration with , finitely many degree-one generators, and commutators lowering degree. The finite-generation clause is part of the convention used here and is necessary for the conclusion.
A finitely generated commutative complex algebra is a quotient of a polynomial ring . Repeated application of the central-variable case of the Hilbert basis theorem makes that polynomial ring Noetherian; quotients preserve the ascending chain condition by lifting ideal chains. Thus is Noetherian.
We prove ascending filtered-graded transfer of Noetherianity directly. Give a left ideal the induced ascending filtration . Its associated graded module embeds into as a homogeneous ideal, denoted . Choose finitely many homogeneous generators of this ideal, of degrees , and lifts . Homogeneous generators may be chosen by taking homogeneous components of any finite generating set.
For , its degree- symbol can be expressed aswith terms of negative coefficient degree omitted. Lift each coefficient to . ThenInduction on , ending at , expresses in the left ideal generated by the . Hence every left ideal is finitely generated. Applying the same argument to right ideals, or to the opposite ring, provesThis degree-lowering proof terminates in finitely many steps and requires no completeness assumption on the filtered ring. Without finite generation of the graded algebra, a counterexample would be the commutative polynomial ring in infinitely many variables, whose ideals do not stabilize.
For the universal enveloping algebra , use the degree ascending filtration inherited from the tensor algebra of the finite-dimensional Lie algebra . For , the defining relation is , whereas the product has filtration degree at most . Thus the degree-one symbols commute in . Those symbols generate the graded algebra, so it is a quotient ofThis already proves the required almost-commutative property. The Poincaré-Birkhoff-Witt theorem gives the stronger identification , but injectivity of this map is not needed for the chain-condition argument. Therefore
If two nonzero principal right ideals in a right Noetherian domain had zero intersection, the sums would be strictly increasing. Directness follows by splitting the lowest term into and the other terms into , then cancelling and repeating. This contradicts the ascending chain condition. A nonzero common element gives the right Ore condition. The left version follows from the opposite ring. Consequently a noncommutative domain Noetherian on both sides has a single division ring of fractions with both left and right fraction presentations.
Skew Hilbert basis theorem 2026-10-14
For an automorphism of a left Noetherian ring , the skew polynomial ring of an automorphism is left Noetherian. For a left ideal , the normalized leading-coefficient ideals form an ascending chain of left ideals of . Choose finite generating lifts through the stabilization degree. Every element of has its leading coefficient cancelled by a suitable left multiple of one of these lifts, and induction on degree proves finite generation. Passing to the skew Laurent polynomial ring preserves the property by clearing negative powers. The right-sided statement follows by applying the argument to the opposite ring.