Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge / 2014 / ib / Paper 4 / 11E (Groups, Rings and Modules)

With the usual commutative, unital conventions, the chain isA field is an integral domain, and every nonzero ideal contains an invertible element and is consequently the whole ring. Its only ideals are $(0)$ and $(1)$, so it is a principal ideal domain.

To prove the middle implication, first show that a principal ideal domain has the ascending chain condition on ideals. The union of an ascending chain is an ideal, hence is $(a)$; its generator belongs to one member of the chain, and all later members equal $(a)$. Now suppose a nonzero nonunit admitted no factorization into irreducible elements. It would factor into two nonunits, at least one of which again has no such factorization. Repeating would produce a strictly increasing chain of principal ideals: if $a=bc$ with $c$ a nonunit, $(a)⊊(b)$, since equality and cancellation would make $c$ invertible. This contradicts the ascending chain condition. Existence of factorization follows. By the permitted fact that every irreducible element is a prime element in a principal ideal domain, any irreducible factor in one factorization divides a factor in the other; cancellation then proves uniqueness up to units and order. This is a unique factorization domain. The final implication is part of the definition of a unique factorization domain.

None of the adjacent implications reverses. The principal ideal domain $\mathbb{Z}$ is not a field, since $2$ is not invertible. The polynomial ring $\mathbb{Q}[x,y]$ is a unique factorization domain, by applying the polynomial extension theorem for unique factorization domains twice, but its ideal $(x,y)$ is not principal: a generator would divide both $x$ and $y$, so would be a unit, whereas every member of this ideal vanishes at the origin. Finally, $\mathbb{Z}[\sqrt{-5}]$ is an integral domain as a subring of $\mathbb{C}$, but is not a unique factorization domain. Its multiplicative norm is $N(a+b\sqrt{-5})=a^2+5b^2$. There is no element of norm $2$ or $3$. Hence $2,3,1+\sqrt{-5},1-\sqrt{-5}$, of norms $4,9,6,6$, are all irreducible: a nontrivial factorization would require one of those missing norms. The only units have norm one and are $\pm 1$. The two factorizationsare therefore not related by associates and reordering.

The set is the ideal quotient $K=(I:J)$. It contains zero. If $r,s\in K$, then $(r-s)J\subseteq I$, since $I$ is an subgroup. If $a\in R$ and $r\in K$, then $(ar)J=a(rJ)\subseteq I$ because $I$ is an ideal. Thus $K$ is an ideal.

Write $J=(a)$ and $K=(b)$. Because $I\subseteq J$, each $x\in I$ has the form $ar$. Then $rJ=r(aR)=xR\subseteq I$, so $r\in K$, and $x\in aK$. Conversely $aK\subseteq I$ by the definition of $K$. Thereforeso $I$ is a principal ideal. This argument uses only the commutative ring convention, not cancellation or an integral domain hypothesis.