Free Ideal Rings and Localization in General Rings

Download or read book Free Ideal Rings and Localization in General Rings written by P. M. Cohn and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2006-06-08 with total page 21 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Proving that a polynomial ring in one variable over a field is a principal ideal domain can be done by means of the Euclidean algorithm, but this does not extend to more variables. However, if the variables are not allowed to commute, giving a free associative algebra, then there is a generalization, the weak algorithm, which can be used to prove that all one-sided ideals are free. This book presents the theory of free ideal rings (firs) in detail. Particular emphasis is placed on rings with a weak algorithm, exemplified by free associative algebras. There is also a full account of localization which is treated for general rings but the features arising in firs are given special attention. Each section has a number of exercises, including some open problems, and each chapter ends in a historical note.