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Third Groups Rings and Modules Example Sheet

1. This document provides an example sheet with problems involving rings, ideals, and polynomials. The problems cover determining whether structures are Euclidean domains, principal ideal domains, unique factorization domains, or fields. They also involve finding greatest common divisors and factorizing polynomials. 2. Problem 1 asks to show that certain rings of integers are Euclidean domains and whether another is, along with finding a possible Euclidean function. Problem 2 asks to show an ideal is not principal. 3. Later problems involve determining irreducibility of polynomials, writing integers as sums of squares, solving equations in polynomial rings, exhibiting examples related to unique factorization, and properties of finite fields and matrix groups over finite fields.

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Jack French
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57 views2 pages

Third Groups Rings and Modules Example Sheet

1. This document provides an example sheet with problems involving rings, ideals, and polynomials. The problems cover determining whether structures are Euclidean domains, principal ideal domains, unique factorization domains, or fields. They also involve finding greatest common divisors and factorizing polynomials. 2. Problem 1 asks to show that certain rings of integers are Euclidean domains and whether another is, along with finding a possible Euclidean function. Problem 2 asks to show an ideal is not principal. 3. Later problems involve determining irreducibility of polynomials, writing integers as sums of squares, solving equations in polynomial rings, exhibiting examples related to unique factorization, and properties of finite fields and matrix groups over finite fields.

Uploaded by

Jack French
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Lent Term 2021 T.A.

Fisher

Groups Rings and Modules: Example Sheet 3 of 4


All rings in this course are commutative with a 1.
p p
1. Show that Z[ 2] and Z[!] are Euclidean domains, where ! = 12 ( 1 + 3). Show
p
also that the usual Euclidean function (r) = N (r) does not make Z[ 3] into
p a
Euclidean domain. Could there be some other Euclidean function making Z[ 3]
into a Euclidean domain?
p p
2. Show that the ideal (2, 1 + 7) in Z[ 7] is not principal.
p
3. Find an element of Z[ 17] that is a product of two irreducibles and also a product
of three irreducibles.
4. Determine whether or not the following rings are fields, PIDs, UFDs, integral domains:

Z[X], Z[X]/(X 2 +1), Z[X]/(2, X 2 +1), Z[X]/(2, X 2 +X+1), Z[X]/(3, X 3 X+1).

5. Determine which of the following polynomials are irreducible in Q[X]:

X 4 + 2X + 2, X 4 + 18X 2 + 24, X 3 9, X 3 + X 2 + X + 1, X 4 + 1, X 4 + 4.

6. Let R be an integral domain. The greatest common divisor (gcd) of non-zero elements
a and b in R is an element d in R such that d divides both a and b, and if c divides
both a and b then c divides d.
(i) Show that the gcd of a and b, if it exists, is unique up to multiplication by a unit.
(ii) In lectures we have seen that, if R is a UFD, the gcd of two elements exists. Give
an example to show that this is not always the case in an integral domain.
(iii) Show that if R is a PID, the gcd of elements a and b exists and can be written as
ra + sb for some r, s 2 R. Give an example to show that this is not always the
case in a UFD.
(iv) Explain briefly how, if R is a Euclidean domain, the Euclidean algorithm can be
used to find the gcd of any two non-zero elements. Use the algorithm to find the
gcd of 11 + 7i and 18 i in Z[i]. Easy , can do when tired
7. Find all ways of writing the following integers as sums of two squares: 221, 209 ⇥
221, 121 ⇥ 221, 5 ⇥ 221.
p
8. By considering factorisations in Z[ 2], show that the only integer solutions to the
equation x2 + 2 = y 3 are x = ±5, y = 3.
9. Let R be any ring. Show that the ring R[X] is a principal ideal domain if and only if
R is a field. Can every ideal in C[X, Y ] be generated by two elements?
10. Exhibit an integral domain R and a (non-zero, non-unit) element of R that is not a
product of irreducibles.

[email protected] -1 - 1 March 2021


11. Let Fq be a finite field with q elements.
(i) Show that the prime subfield K (that is, the smallest subfield) of Fq has p elements
for some prime number p. Show that Fq is a vector space over K and deduce that
q = pn , for some n.
(ii) Assuming that a field with pn elements exists, show that GLn (Fp ) contains an
element of order pn 1.
Further Questions

12. (i) Consider the polynomial f = X 3 Y + X 2 Y 2 + Y 3 Y 2 X Y + 1 in C[X, Y ].


Write it as an element of (C[X])[Y ], that is collect together terms in powers of Y ,
and then use Eisenstein’s criterion to show that f is prime in C[X, Y ].
(ii) Let F be any field. Show that the polynomial f = X 2 + Y 2 1 is irreducible in
F [X, Y ], unless F has characteristic 2. What happens in that case?
p
13. Show that
p the subring Z[ 2] of R is a Euclidean domain. Show that the units are
±(1 ± 2)n for n > 0.
14. If a UFD has at least one irreducible, must it have infinitely many (pairwise non-
associate) irreducibles?
15. Use your answer to Question 11 to show that if p and ` are primes, and ` is odd, then
every Sylow `-subgroup of SL2 (Fp ) is cyclic.
16. Let F4 = F2 [!]/(! 2 + ! + 1) = {0, 1, !, ! + 1}, a field with four elements.
Show that the groups SL2 (F4 ) and PSL2 (F5 ) both have order 60. By exhibiting two
Sylow 5-subgroups and using some questions from Example Sheet 1, or otherwise, show
that they are both isomorphic to the alternating group A5 . Show that SL2 (F5 ) and
PGL2 (F5 ) both have order 120, but that only one of these is isomorphic to S5 .
[You may find it helpful to show, using the Cayley-Hamilton theorem or otherwise,
that the order of an element I 6= A 2 SL2 (F4 ) is uniquely determined by its trace.]

[email protected] -2 - 1 March 2021

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