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Math 6150: Commutative Algebra, Fall 2020


Lecture Topics


Date
What we discussed/How we spent our time
Aug 24
Syllabus. Text. HW. What is ``algebra''?
Aug 26
Reading: Review Chapter 7 of Dummit and Foote.

We discussed the process of creating algebraic models. The main topics and examples were

  • monoids and semigroups
  • small categories
  • Cayley representation theorem
  • rings and $k$-algebras
  • Aug 26
    We continued working through the slides on algebraization.
    Aug 31
    Rings are algebraic models for the endomorphism structure of an abelian group. ($\textrm{End}_{\mathbb Z}(A)$). $k$-algebras are algebraic models for the endomorphism structure of a vextor space. ($\textrm{End}_{k}(V)$). Commutative rings are interesting as generalizations of $\mathbb Z$ and also as auxiliary structures for studying spaces, $C(X)$.
    Sep 2
    Reading: Chapter 1 of A-M.

    Discussion related to Chapter 1 of A-M.

  • The ring axioms are the identities satisfied by all endomorphism structures $\textrm{End}_{\mathbb Z}(A)$.
  • Hom kernels correspond to ideals.
  • $\textrm{Idl}(R)$ is modular.
  • Operations on ideals: $I+J, I\cap J, IJ, (I:J)$.
  • Sep 4
    We continued discussing Chapter 1 of A-M. (Radical ideals.)
  • Solvability = nilpotence.
  • Nilradical.
  • Thm. If $R$ is a commutative ring and $S\subseteq R$ is a nonempty, multiplicatively closed subset not containing $0$, then any ideal of $R$ maximal for being disjoint from $S$ is prime.
  • nilradical = intersection of all primes.
  • Stacks project link for a meta-observation about prime ideals.

    Sep 7
    Labor Day!
    Sep 9
    We began discussing Spec$(R)$.
    Sep 11
    We continued discussing Spec$(R)$.
  • $\textrm{Idl}(R)/(\textrm{solvability})$ = a frame.
  • frames encode topological spaces.
  • points = characters. Can be identified with largest element in $\chi^{-1}(\bot)$, a meet-irreducible frame element.
  • points can be identified back in $\textrm{Idl}(R)$ as meet-irreducible semiprime ideals ( = primes).
  • closed sets of topology = vanishing sets.
  • Sep 14
    We began discussing spectral spaces.
  • Examples of spectra, including $\textrm{Spec}(\mathbb Z)$.
  • Nagata idealization. (Helps to produce example where $R\not\cong S$, $\textrm{Spec}(R)\cong \textrm{Spec}(S)$.)
  • Sep 16
    We finished spectral spaces.
  • Hochster's Theorem.
  • Sobriety.
  • Compact opens are finite unions of distinguished/principal opens.
  • ($D(f)$ should be thought of as the support of $f$.)
  • Intersection of two compact opens is compact open.
  • Sep 18
    We explained why Spec is a contravariant functor.
  • Covariant and contravariant functors.
  • $\textrm{Spec}$ is the object part of a contravariant functors. The morphism part is $F(\alpha)=\alpha^* = \alpha^{-1}$.
  • Contraction of a prime is prime.
  • Inverse image of principal open is principal open: $(\alpha^*)^{-1}(D(f)) = D(\alpha(f))$.
  • Direct decompositions of $R$ correspond to decompositions of $\textrm{Spec}(R)$ into complementary clopen sets.
  • Stacks project link for the spectrum of a ring.
    Stacks project link for open and closed subsets of spectra.
    Stacks project link for connected components of spectra.
    Stacks project link for irreducible components of spectra.

    Sep 21
    Chapter 1 Roundup! (Especially the Jacobson radical.)
  • Wedderburn radical.
  • Jacobson radical of $R$ consists of elements that annihilate simple $R$-modules = elements that act nilpotently on $R$-modules of finite length.
  • Jacobson radical = intersection of maximal (left) ideals = set of all $r\in R$ such that $(1+sr)$ is left invertible for all $s\in R$.
  • Stacks project link for the Jacobson radical of a ring.

    Sep 23
    Nakayama's Lemma. (Still in these slides.)
  • Jacobson radical of a module.
  • Nontraditional proof of Nakayama's Lemma.
  • A Transfer Theorem from fields to commutative rings: any positive universal sentence true in all fields is true in all commutative rings. (E.g., Cayley-Hamilton Theorem.)
  • Traditional proof of Nakayama's Lemma, using Cayley-Hamilton Theorem.
  • Proof that if $M$ is f.g. and $M=IM$, then $(1+i)M=0$ for some $i\in I$.
  • Stacks project link for the Cayley-Hamilton Theorem.
    Stacks project link for Nakayama's Lemma.

    Sep 25
    Reading: Chapter 2 of A-M.

    Modules I. Modules over rings and $k$-algebras. Universal morphisms.

    Sep 28
    Modules II. Free objects, products, coproducts in the categories of $R$-modules, rings, and $k$-algebras.
    Sep 30
    Modules III.

    Stacks project link for products.
    Stacks project link for coproducts.

    Oct 2
    Tensor products. A handout with more details.

    Stacks project link for tensor products.

    Oct 5
    Presentations. Presentations are convenient. Presentations are inconvenient. Coproducts via presentations.
    Oct 7
    We continued with presentations. Universal property for $\otimes$. Not every element of $M\otimes N$ is a simple tensor. Tensor products of vector spaces. Testing whether two elements are equal in $M\otimes N$.
    Oct 9
    We continued with presentations. Testing whether $M\otimes_R N = 0$. Tensor product of objects versus tensor product of objects. Tensor product of rings and algebras.
    Oct 12
    We finished presentations. Restriction and extension of scalars.
    Oct 14
    We began discussing exact sequences, especially how they arise in connection with the extension problem.
    Oct 16
    More on exact sequences. Definition of a complex. Homology modules. Factoring a complex into short complexes. Homology of a complex can be computed from its short factors. Exact sequences split on the right or left. Section versus retraction. A SES splits iff the middle term is the biproduct of the outer terms.

    Stacks project link for complexes.

    Oct 19
    Continuation of exact sequences. We proved that representable functors between module categories are additive. We proved that additive functors preserve zero morphisms, zero objects, direct sums, and split exact sequences. We proved that hom functors are left exact but not necessarily exact. We introduced projective and injective modules. Projective = retract of free = direct sum of free. Injective = no proper essential extension.

    Stacks project link for preadditive and additive categories.
    Stacks project link for additive functors.
    Stacks project link for projectives.
    Stacks project link for injectives.
    Stacks project link for flatness.

    Oct 21
    Continuation of exact sequences.
    A surprise worksheet!
    Oct 23
    Ext and Tor.
    Oct 26
    Reading: Chapter 3 of A-M.

    Key points about localization.

    Oct 28
    (Unfortunately, this lecture was not recorded.)

    We discussed this worksheet. Then we completed the last localization slides. Finally, we started discussing primary decomposition.

    Stacks project link for zero divisors and the total rings of fractions.

    Oct 30
    Reading: Chapter 4 of A-M.

    We continued with the primary decomposition slides, ending with the proof of the Krull Intersection Theorem.

    Stacks project link for the Krull intersection theorem.

    Nov 2
    (Unfortunately, this lecture was not recorded.)

    We discussed associated primes.

    Stacks project link for associated primes.
    Stacks project link for weakly associated primes.
    Stacks project link for embedded primes.
    Stacks project link for support and dimension.

    Nov 4
    Reading: Chapter 5 of A-M.

    We started on integral dependence.

    Stacks project link for finite and integral ring extensions.

    Nov 6
    This Chapter has a lot of interesting exercises, and Exercise 16 (Noether Normalization) is probably the most important one. Exercise 18 (Zariski's Lemma) is also important. Please read Exercises 1, 3, 5 as well.

    We discussed the Cohen-Seidenberg Theorems. (Lying Over, Incomparability, Going Up, Going Down)

    Stacks project link for Noether normalization.

    Nov 9
    Reading: Chapters 6 and 7 of A-M.

    We started discussing chain conditions.

    Stacks project link for Noetherian rings.
    Stacks project link for more on Noetherian rings.

    Nov 11
    Reading: Chapter 8 of A-M.

    We started the lecture by explaining why a complemented modular lattice satisfies ACC iff DCC iff all chains are finite. For such a lattice there is a number $k$ such that all maximal chains have length $k$.

    Next, we discussed the structure of commutative Artinian rings. In particular, we argued that

    a commutative Artinian ring

  • has nilpotent radical.
  • is Noetherian. (Commutative version of Hopkins-Levitski.)
  • has finitely many maximal ideals.
  • has Krull dimension zero.
  • is a finite product of Artinian Local rings.

    Stacks project link for Artinian rings.
    Stacks project link for length.

  • Nov 13
    Reading: Chapter 9 of A-M.

    We started the lecture by proving that a commutative ring is Artinian iff it is Noetherian of Krull dimension zero. (Half the proof was given on November 11.)

    Next, we began discussing Dedekind domains.

    Stacks project link for Dedekind domains, starting with Definition 10.119.12.

    Nov 16
    We finished the first set of slides on Dedekind domains, where the main new material was the proof that $\mathcal{O}_K$ is a Dedekind domain when $K$ is a finite extension of the rationals.
    Nov 18
    We started to discuss different characterizations of Dedekind domains.
    Nov 20
    We proved that if $D$ is an integral domain, then every fractional ideal is invertible iff $D$ is Noetherian, integrally closed, and dimension $1$. We then proved that such a domain has unique factorization of nonzero ideals into prime ideals. We started proving that if $D$ has unique factorization into prime ideals, then all fractional ideals are invertible. (We reduced this to proving the following statement: If $D$ has unique factorization of nonzero ideals into prime ideals, then every invertible prime is maximal.)
    Nov 23
    We completed the proof that a Dedekind domain has unique factorization of ideals into primes. We proved that PID=UFD+Dedekind. We started discussing the ideal class group.
    Nov 25
    We discussed how the ideal class group of a Dedekind domain classifies its f.g. projective modules, following the slides about the ideal class group.
    Nov 27
    We completed the discussion of how the ideal class group classifies the f.g. projective modules over a Dedekind domain.
    Nov 30
    We began discussing the local structure of Dedekind domains.
    Dec 2
    We started with a brief discussion of uniserial domains, and ended by finishing the slides about the local structure of Dedekind domains.

    Stacks project link for valuation rings.
    Stacks project link for a valuation ring is discrete iff its value group is isomorphic to $\mathbb Z$.

    Dec 4
    We began a discussion of the Nullstellensatz.
    Dec 7
    We completed the Nullstellensatz slides.