Order (ring theory)
In mathematics, an order in the sense of ring theory is a subring of a ring , such that
- A is a ring which is a finite-dimensional algebra over the rational number field
- spans A over , so that , and
- is a Z-lattice in A.
The last two conditions can be stated in less formal terms: Additively, is a free abelian group generated by a basis for A over .
More generally for R an integral domain contained in a field K we define to be an R-order in a K-algebra A if it is a subring of A which is a full R-lattice.[1]
When A is not a commutative ring, the idea of order is still important, but the phenomena are different. For example, the Hurwitz quaternions form a maximal order in the quaternions with rational co-ordinates; they are not the quaternions with integer coordinates in the most obvious sense. Maximal orders exist in general, but need not be unique: there is in general no largest order, but a number of maximal orders. An important class of examples is that of integral group rings.
Examples:[2]
- If A is the matrix ring Mn(K) over K then the matrix ring Mn(R) over R is an R-order in A
- If R is an integral domain and L a finite separable extension of K, then the integral closure S of R in L is an R-order in L.
- If a in A is an integral element over R then the polynomial ring R[a] is an R-order in the algebra K[a]
- If A is the group ring K[G] of a finite group G then R[G] is an R-order on K[G]
A fundamental property of R-orders is that every element of an R-order is integral over R.[3]
If the integral closure S of R in A is an R-order then this result shows that S must be the maximal R-order in A. However this is not always the case: indeed S need not even be a ring, and even if S is a ring (for example, when A is commutative) then S need not be an R-lattice.[3]
Algebraic number theory
The leading example is the case where A is a number field K and is its ring of integers. In algebraic number theory there are examples for any K other than the rational field of proper subrings of the ring of integers that are also orders. For example in the field extension A=Q(i) of Gaussian rationals over Q, the integral closure of Z is the ring of Gaussian integers Z[i] and so this is the unique maximal Z-order: all other orders in A are contained in it: for example, we can take the subring of the
for which b is an even number.[4]
The maximal order question can be examined at a local field level. This technique is applied in algebraic number theory and modular representation theory.
See also
- Hurwitz quaternion order - An example of ring order
References
- Pohst, M.; Zassenhaus, H. (1989). Algorithmic Algebraic Number Theory. Encyclopedia of Mathematics and its Applications. 30. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-33060-2. Zbl 0685.12001.
- Reiner, I. (2003). Maximal Orders. London Mathematical Society Monographs. New Series. 28. Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-852673-3. Zbl 1024.16008.