Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge / 2024 / iii / Paper 101 / 3 / iv / Solution

The Krull intersection theorem givesbecause $(R,\mathfrak{m})$ is a Noetherian local ring and $x\in \mathfrak{m}$. Consequently every nonzero $a\in R$ has a largest $x$-adic order: one can write

Suppose nonzero elements $a,b$ satisfy $ab=0$. Write $a=x^r{a}^{\prime }$ and $b=x^s{b}^{\prime }$ with $a^{\prime },b^{\prime }\notin (x)$. Since $x$ is a non-zero-divisor, cancellation of $x^{r+s}$ gives $a^{\prime }{b}^{\prime }=0$. Reducing modulo $(x)$ now gives a product of two nonzero elements equal to zero in $R/(x)$, contradicting that this quotient is an integral domain. Hence $R$ is an integral domain.