Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2018 iii Paper 101 2 e Solution Created 2026-10-03 Updated 2026-10-05
Let be the sequence with in coordinate and zero elsewhere. In the direct product of rings , the idealsform a strict ascending chain: every element of vanishes after coordinate , whereas does not. Hence is not a Noetherian ring.
Nevertheless, each has a coordinatewise generalized inverse , defined by when and otherwise. It satisfiesThis is the defining property of a Von Neumann regular ring. Fix any prime ideal , and take . Since , ; butConsequently in the localization at a prime ideal . All elements of therefore vanish. By the local ring description in part (a), is the unique maximal ideal, so is a nonzero field. A field has only the ideals zero and itself, and thus is Noetherian.
We have proved the stronger conclusionThe argument applies to every prime ideal, without assuming that it comes from a coordinate projection.