PlanetMath (more info)
 Math for the people, by the people. Sponsor PlanetMath
Encyclopedia | Requests | Forums | Docs | Wiki | Random | RSS  
Login
create new user
name:
pass:
forget your password?
Main Menu
Viewing Version 11 of 'ground fields and rings'
[ view 'ground fields and rings' | back to history ]

Title of object: ground fields and rings
Canonical Name: GroundFieldsAndRings
Type: Definition

Created on: 2006-05-08 19:26:29
Modified on: 2006-12-31 12:00:38

Creator: Algeboy
Modifier: yark
Author: yark
Author: Mathprof
Author: Algeboy
Author: mathcam
Author: pahio

Classification: msc:08A30
Keywords: ground ring
Defines: ground field, base field, ground ring, base ring
Synonyms: ground fields and rings=base field
ground fields and rings=base ring

Revision comment (for changes between this and next version):

removing redundancy in defines/synonyms, which was causing duplication in the index

Preamble:

\usepackage{latexsym}
\usepackage{amssymb}
\usepackage{amsmath}
\usepackage{amsfonts}
\usepackage{amsthm}

\usepackage{xypic}

%-----------------------------------------------------

% Standard theoremlike environments.

% Stolen directly from AMSLaTeX sample

%-----------------------------------------------------

%% \theoremstyle{plain} %% This is the default

\newtheorem{thm}{Theorem}

\newtheorem{coro}[thm]{Corollary}

\newtheorem{lem}[thm]{Lemma}

\newtheorem{lemma}[thm]{Lemma}

\newtheorem{prop}[thm]{Proposition}

\newtheorem{conjecture}[thm]{Conjecture}

\newtheorem{conj}[thm]{Conjecture}

\newtheorem{defn}[thm]{Definition}

\newtheorem{remark}[thm]{Remark}

\newtheorem{ex}[thm]{Example}



%\countstyle[equation]{thm}



%--------------------------------------------------

% Item references.

%--------------------------------------------------


\newcommand{\exref}[1]{Example-\ref{#1}}

\newcommand{\thmref}[1]{Theorem-\ref{#1}}

\newcommand{\defref}[1]{Definition-\ref{#1}}

\newcommand{\eqnref}[1]{(\ref{#1})}

\newcommand{\secref}[1]{Section-\ref{#1}}

\newcommand{\lemref}[1]{Lemma-\ref{#1}}

\newcommand{\propref}[1]{Prop\-o\-si\-tion-\ref{#1}}

\newcommand{\corref}[1]{Cor\-ol\-lary-\ref{#1}}

\newcommand{\figref}[1]{Fig\-ure-\ref{#1}}

\newcommand{\conjref}[1]{Conjecture-\ref{#1}}


% Normal subgroup or equal.

\providecommand{\normaleq}{\unlhd}

% Normal subgroup.

\providecommand{\normal}{\lhd}

\providecommand{\rnormal}{\rhd}
% Divides, does not divide.

\providecommand{\divides}{\mid}

\providecommand{\ndivides}{\nmid}


\providecommand{\union}{\cup}

\providecommand{\bigunion}{\bigcup}

\providecommand{\intersect}{\cap}

\providecommand{\bigintersect}{\bigcap}









Content:

The following is a list of common uses of the \PMlinkescapetext{term} \emph{ground} or \emph{base} field or ring in algebra. These \PMlinkescapetext{terms} are endowed with \PMlinkescapetext{semantics} based on their context so the following list may be \PMlinkescapetext{incomplete} or may not apply uniformly.

One commonality is generally found for the use of ground ring or field: the result is a unitial subring of the original. Outside of this requirement, the constraints are specific to context.

\begin{itemize}
\item Given a ring $R$ with a 1, let $\mathbb{Z}1$ be the subgroup of $R$ generated by $1$ under addition. This is consequently a subring of $R$ of the same characteristic as $R$. Thus is it isomorphic to $\mathbb{Z}/c\mathbb{Z}$ where $c$ is the characteristic of $R$. This is the smallest unital subring of $R$ and so rightfully may be called the ground or base ring of $R$.

When the characteristic of $R$ is prime, $\mathbb{Z}1\cong \mathbb{Z}/p\mathbb{Z}$ and so it may be called the ground field of $R$.

\item Given a vector space or algebra $A$ over a field $k$, then $k$ is the ground/base field of $A$.

\item Given a set of matrices $M_n(R)$, the ground ring is commonly the ring $R$, and if required as a subring of $M_n(R)$ then it is taken as the set of all scalar matrices.

\item Given a field extension $K/k$ over a field $k$, then $k$ is the ground field of $K$ in this context. For a general field where no specific subfield has been specified, the ground/base field then typically defaults to the prime subfield of $K$. (Recall the prime subfield is the unique smallest subfield of $K$.)

\item Given a field $K$ and a set of field automorphisms\, $f:K\rightarrow K$,\, the ground/base field in this context is the \PMlinkname{fixed field}{Fixed} of the automorphisms. That is, the largest subfield of $K$ which is pointwise fixed by each $f$. Since a field automorphism must fix the prime subfield, this definition always produces a field containing the prime subfield.

\end{itemize}