Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge / 2007 / iii / Paper 6 / 5 / Solution

An almost commutative algebra over $\mathbb{C}$ 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 $F_{0}R=\mathbb{C}$, 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 $\mathbb{C}[X_1,\dots ,X_d]$. 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 $\mathrm{gr}R$ is Noetherian.

We prove ascending filtered-graded transfer of Noetherianity directly. Give a left ideal $I\subseteq R$ the induced ascending filtration $I\cap F_{n}R$. Its associated graded module embeds into $\mathrm{gr}R$ as a homogeneous ideal, denoted $\mathrm{gr}I$. Choose finitely many homogeneous generators ${\overline{u}}_1,\dots ,{\overline{u}}_m$ of this ideal, of degrees $d_1,\dots ,d_m$, and lifts $u_j\in I\cap F_{d_j}R$. Homogeneous generators may be chosen by taking homogeneous components of any finite generating set.

For $u\in I\cap F_{n}R$, its degree-$n$ symbol can be expressed aswith terms of negative coefficient degree omitted. Lift each coefficient to $a_j\in F_{n-d_j}R$. ThenInduction on $n$, ending at $F_{-1}R=0$, expresses $u$ in the left ideal generated by the $u_j$. 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 $(X_1)⊊(X_1,X_2)⊊\cdots$ do not stabilize.

For the universal enveloping algebra $U(\mathfrak{g})$, use the degree ascending filtration inherited from the tensor algebra of the finite-dimensional Lie algebra $\mathfrak{g}$. For $x,y\in \mathfrak{g}$, the defining relation is $xy-yx=[x,y]\in F_{1}U(\mathfrak{g})$, whereas the product $xy$ has filtration degree at most $2$. Thus the degree-one symbols commute in $\mathrm{gr}U(\mathfrak{g})$. 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 $\mathrm{gr}U(\mathfrak{g})\cong \mathrm{Sym}(\mathfrak{g})$, but injectivity of this map is not needed for the chain-condition argument. Therefore