Module of integer sequences 2026-10-25
The module of integer sequences consists of all functions , with pointwise addition and integer scalar multiplication. Its submodule of finitely supported sequences is the direct sum of modules , a free module with coordinate basis of a module . The full product is not a free module.
To prove this, suppose it had a basis of a module . The countable basis support lemma places every finitely supported sequence in a submodule generated by a countable subset of . The basis partition gives a module direct sum lemma supplies a projection onto its complementary direct summand, with kernel . By countability of countably generated abelian groups, is countable. The Cantor diagonal argument makes the family of all sequences uncountable, so choose one with . Truncating before coordinate writes , where is finitely supported and is an integer sequence. Thus for every . The vanishing of infinitely divisible integer sequences forces , a contradiction.
Past exam of the rings and modules course of the University of Oxford 2023 2 b iv Solution 2026-10-25
For every , truncate before coordinate :This lies in . For , . For , , which is divisible by . In particular the integer sequencebelongs to and satisfies .
Apply the module homomorphism . Since ,Fixing any coordinate , the integer is therefore divisible by for every . The only such integer is zero: if , choose with , which rules out for any nonzero integer . Thus every coordinate of vanishes, contradicting part (b)(iii).
It follows thatThe decisive property is vanishing of infinitely divisible integer sequences, namely .