Rings are algebraic structures that generalize fields. There are several types of rings, including polynomials, integers, rational numbers, and complex numbers. They are also known as commutative rings. These rings can be used to solve many problems in number theory.
The first ring to be formalized was the generalization of Dedekind domains. This was in the 1870s. In the later 19th century, however, the distinctions between rings were more or less eliminated.
The simplest commutative rings are called fields. Fields are a fundamental object in mathematics. They have no divisors of zero, so they are commutative under multiplication. A commutative ring is a ring with nonzero elements that form a commutative multiplication group. However, these rings are not necessarily understood as well as non-commutative rings.
Rings have two operations, addition and multiplication. Each operation is associative. To perform the operation, a collection of integers must satisfy a set of axioms. When a new element is added to the ring, the ring must satisfy the axioms for the abelian group, if any.
Another type of ring is a ring of functions. Functions are polynomial functions that exist in the set of integers. Depending on the axioms, there are multiple possible rings that can be constructed. Generally, subrings are constructed by restricting the properties that are preserved under addition and multiplication.
The ring of functions from X to R has natural pointwise multiplication operations. In addition, there are several interesting subrings of this ring.
For a ring to be commutative, it must have a multiplicative identity. All of the algebraic numbers have a multiplicative identity. It is also important to note that the elements of the ring are either numbers or non-numerical objects. Some of these are the smallest positive integers.
In addition, rings must satisfy certain assumptions, such as the existence of an inverse – aR, if the ring is an abelian group. Likewise, addition and multiplication must satisfy a set of distributive laws.
The concept of a ring has deep roots in algebraic number theory and algebraic geometry. Specifically, it has its origin in the work of Hilbert, Dedekind, and Fraenkel. Although the study of rings has taken many different directions, the underlying conceptualization has remained the same.
The key contributors to the conceptualization of rings include Hilbert, Fraenkel, and Noether. During this period, there were a number of important developments.
One of the major branches of ring theory is commutative algebra. Commutative algebra is a study of rings and rings of polynomials. Using the concepts of commutative algebra, rings have been studied more extensively.
Commutative rings have more to offer than their non-commutative counterparts. Those with unity have a multiplicative inverse, whereas those without unity do not. Additionally, the study of commutative rings has implications for behavior and mathematics.
There are many different areas of mathematics in which rings can be studied, including topology, physics, and biology. As a result, many authors apply the term “ring” without the multiplicative identity.