The units of a ring R are defined by means of a multiplicative property, but in many cases they generate R additively. For example, it is shown in [5, Proposition 6] that if R is a semi-simple Artinian ring then every element of R is a sum of units if and only if the ring S = ℤ/2ℤ⊕ℤ/2ℤ is not a direct summand of R, where ℤ denotes the ring of integers. The theme of this paper is to investigate the corresponding situation concerning regular elements, i. e. elements which are not zero-divisors. We show that if R is a semi-prime right Goldie ring then every element of R is a sum of regular elements if and only if R does not have the ring S defined above as a direct summand (Corollary 2.9). We also characterise those Noetherian rings R such that every element of R is a sum of regular elements (Theorem 2. 6). The characterisation is in terms of the nature of certain prime factor rings of R, and it is again the presence of the ring S, this time in a particular way as a factor ring of R, which prevents R from being generated by its regular elements. If R has no non-zero Artinian one-sided ideals or if 2 is a regular element of R, then every element of R is a sum of regular elements (Corollaries 2. 5 and 2. 7). As an application we show in Section 3 that, for many Noetherian rings R, the set of elements of R which are divisible by every regular element of R is a two-sided ideal of R.

Let M be a von Neumann algebra and a strongly continuous one-parameter group of *-automorphisms of M. Recently, considerable interest has been shown in the associated mappings (see for instance [2], [3] and [4]). The paper of Thaheem, Van Daele and Vanheeswijk [4] exclusively deals with these mappings. The main result of [4] is formulated as follows. Let and be strongly continuous one-parameter groups of *-automorphisms on a von Neumann algebra M satisfying the operator equation

A well-known fact concerning a prime right Goldie ring R, proved in [4, Section 5], is that an essential right ideal is generated by the regular elements which it contains. There is a modification of that proof which shows that each element of R is the sum of at most two regular elements. This suggested that the recent results of Chatters and Ginn [1] concerning rings generated by their regular elements might possibly be refined a little, since their arguments actually show that elements of R are sums of at most three regular elements.

First we recall that a (real) quasi-Banach space X is a complete metrizable real vector space whose topology is given by a quasi-norm satisfying

where C is some constant independent of x1 and x2. X is said to be p-normable (or topologically p-convex), where 0 < p ≤ l, if for some constant B we have

for any x1, …, xn, є X. A theorem of Aolci and Rolewicz (see [18]) asserts that if in C = 21/p-1, then X is p-normable. We can then equivalently re-norm X so that in (1.4) B = 1.

G. B. Preston [10] proved that any semigroup can be embedded in a bisimple monoid. If S is a countable semigroup, his constructive proof yields a bisimple monoid which is also countable, but not necessarily finitely generated. The main result of this paper is that any countable semigroup can be embedded in a 2-generated bisimple monoid.

J. M. Howie [6] proved that any semigroup can be embedded in an idempotentgenerated semigroup. F. Pastijn [9] showed that any semigroup can be embedded in a bisimple idempotent-generated semigroup, and that any countable semigroup can be embedded in a semigroup which is generated by 3 idempotents. Easy proofs of these results using Rees matrix semigroups over a semigroup were given by the author [3]. In this paper, as a corollary to our main result, we deduce that any countable semigroup can be embedded in a bisimple semigroup which is generated by 3 idempotents.

Nagata in [3] defined strongly countable-dimensional spaces which are the countable union of closed finite-dimensional subspaces. Walker and Wenner in [7] characterized such metric spaces as follows: a space X is a strongly countable-dimensional metric space if and only if there exists a finite-to-one closed mapping of a zero-dimensional metric space onto X with weak local order.

Recent work [2, 6] on subalgebras of matrix algebras leads naturally to the following situation. Let A be a C*-subalgebra of the C*-algebra B andM be a weakly closed *-subalgebra of the von Neumann algebra N. Consider the following Conditions.

Condition 1. For every b≠ 0 in B there exists a ∈ A such that O≠ab ∈ A.

Condition 2. For every b∈B there exists a ≠ 0 in A such that ab ∈ A.

If we replace A by M and B by N in Conditions 1 and 2 we get von Neumann algebra versions which we shall call Condition 1'and Condition 2'. Clearly Condition 1 implies Condition 2, and both conditions suggest that A is some kind of weak ideal of B. This paper explores the extent to which this is true. The paper grew out of the author's attempts [1, 3] to generalize the Stone-Weierstrass theorem to C*-algebras.

For a completely 0-simple semigroup, Howie [2] has investigated the subsemigroup generated by the idempotents. Here we determine those elements of such a semigroup which are generated by the set of nilpotent elements and hence we derive a condition for a completely 0-simple semigroup to be nilpotent generated. This condition is purely combinatorial, in terms of the structure of the graph associated with the semigroup, and it includes the case of a non-regular Rees matrix semigroup.

Let G be a finitely generated (f.g.) torsion-free nilpotent group. Then the group algebra k[G] of G over a field k is a Noetherian domain and hence has a classical division ring of fractions, denoted by k(G). Recently, the division algebras k(G) and, somewhat more generally, division algebras generated by f.g. nilpotent groups have been studied in [3] and [5]. These papers are concerned with the question to what extent the division algebra determines the group under consideration. Here we continue the study of the division algebras k(G) and investigate their Gelfand–Kirillov (GK–) transcendence degree.

This note is devoted to giving a conceptually simple proof of the Invertible Ideal Theorem [1, Theorem 4·6], namely that a prime ideal of a right Noetherian ring R minimal over an invertible ideal has rank at most one. In the commutative case this result may be easily deduced from the Principal Ideal Theorem by localizing and observing that an invertible ideal of a local ring is principal. Our proof is partially analogous in that it utilizes the Rees ring (denned below) in order to reduce the theorem to the case of a prime ideal minimal over an ideal generated by a single central element, which can be easily dealt with by adapting the commutative argument in [8]. The reader is also referred to the papers of Jategaonkar on the subject [5, 6, 7], particularly the last where another proof of the theorem appears which yields some additional information.

J. Berman [2] initiated the study of a variety k of bounded distributive lattices endowed with a dual homomorphic operation paying particular attention to certain subvarieties km, n. Subsequently, A. Urquhart [8] named the algebras in k distributive Ockham algebras, and developed a duality theory, based on H. A. Priestley's order-topological duality for bounded distributive lattices [6], [7]. Amongst other things, Urquhart described the ordered spaces dual to the subdirectly irreducible algebras in Sif. This work was developed further still by M. S. Goldberg in his thesis and the paper [5]. Recently, T. S. Blyth and J. C. Varlet [3], in abstracting de Morgan and Stone algebras, studied a subvariety MS of the variety k1.1. The main result in [3]is that there are, up to isomorphism, nine subdirectly irreducible algebras in MS and their Hasse diagrams are exhibited. The methods employed in [3] are purely algebraic and can be generalized to show that, up to isomorphism, there are twenty subdirectly irreducible algebras in k1.1. In section 3 of this paper, we take a short cut to this result by utilizing the results of Urquhart and Goldberg. Our basic method is simple: the results of Goldberg [5] are applied to k1,1 to produce a certain eight-element algebra B1 in k1,1, whose lattice reduct is Boolean and whose subalgebras are, up to isomorphism, precisely the subdirectly irreducibles in k1.1. We then pick out of the list of twenty such algebras those belonging to the variety MS. In section 4, we sketch a purely algebraic proof along the lines followed by Blyth and Varlet in [3].

Throughout, (X, ≤ ) denotes a partially ordered set (p. o. set), where X is assumed to be finite. A subset Y of X is called a k-union if Y contains no chain of length K + 1. In particular, therefore, a 1-union is just an antichain; and it is readily seen that Y is a k-union if and only if it is a union of K antichains. (Dually, a subset Z of X is a k-counion if Z contains no antichain of length k + 1.) We denote by dk (X) the maximum cardinality of a k-union in X, with a similar notation for other p. o. sets. Now let be any partition of X into chains, and write

.

Let E be an ordered Banach space with closed positive cone C. A base for C is a convex subset K of C with the property that every non-zero element of C has a unique representation of the form λk with λ > 0 and k ∈ K. Let S be the absolutely convex hull of K. If the Minkowski functional of S coincides with the given norm on E, then E is called a base norm space. Then K is a closed face of the unit ball of E, and S contains the open unit ball of E. Base norm spaces were first defined by Ellis [5, p. 731], although the special case of dual Banach spaces had been studied earlier by Edwards [4].

The study of bounded distributive lattices endowed with an additional dual homomorphic operation began with a paper by J. Berman [3]. On the one hand, this class of algebras simultaneously abstracts de Morgan algebras and Stone algebras while, on the other hand, it has relevance to propositional logics lacking both the paradoxes of material implication and the law of double negation. Subsequently, these algebras were baptized distributive Ockham lattices and an order-topological duality theory for them was developed by A. Urquhart [13]. In an elegant paper [9], M. S. Goldberg extended this theory and, amongst other things, described the free algebras and the injective algebras in those subvarieties of the variety 0 of distributive Ockham algebras which are generated by a single finite subdirectly irreducible algebra. Recently, T. S. Blyth and J. C. Varlet [4] explicitly described the subdirectly irreducible algebras in a small subvariety MS of 0 while in [2] the order-topological results of Goldberg were applied to accomplish the same objective for a subvariety k1.1 of 0 which properly contains MS. The aim, here, is to describe explicitly the injective algebras in each of the subvarieties of the variety MS. The first step is to draw the Hasse diagram of the lattice AMS of subvarieties of MS. Next, the results of Goldberg are applied to describe the injectives in each of the join irreducible members of AMS. Finally, this information, in conjunction with universal algebraic results due to B. Davey and H. Werner [8], is applied to give an explicit description of the injectives in each of the join reducible members of AMS.

In this article, we obtain results on commutators in Sylow subgroups of the lower central series, extending the work of Dark and Newell [2], Rodney [12, 13] and Aschbacher and the author [1, 6, 7].

Some notation is required for the statement of the main results. Let r be a positive integer and define

and

where x1, …, xr, are elements in a group G. Let ΓrG = {[x1, …, xr]∣ x1 ∈ G} be the set of r-fold commutators in G. Then Lr,G = 〈ΓrG〉 is the rth term in the lower central series of G. Set L∞G = ∩ Lr,G.

Semilocal and related classes of group rings have been investigated by many authors (cf. [10]). In particular, the following results have been obtained.

Theorem A[4,10]. Let K be a field and G a group.

(i) If ch K = 0, then K[G] is semilocal if and only if G is finite.

(ii) If ch K = p>0 and G is locally finite, then K[G] is semilocal if and only if G contains a p-subgroup of finite index.

In the case of semigroup rings some stronger conditions have been studied. Munn examined the semisimple artinian situation [6]. Zelmanov showed that if K[G]is artinian then G must be finite [11].

In his unpublished manuscripts (referred to by Birch [1] as Fragment V, pp. 247–249), Ramanujan [3] gave a whole list of assertions about various (transforms of) modular forms possessing naturally associated Euler products, in more or less the spirit of his extremely beautiful paper entitled “On certain arithmetical functions” (in Trans. Camb. Phil. Soc. 22 (1916)). It is simply amazing how Ramanujan could write down (with an ostensibly profound insight) a basis of eigenfunctions (of Hecke operators) whose associated Dirichlet series have Euler products, anticipating by two decades the famous work of Hecke and Petersson. That he had further realized, in the event of a modular form f not corresponding to an Euler product, the possibility of restoring the Euler product property to a suitable linear combination of modular forms of the same type as f, is evidently fantastic.

We show that Diestel's theorem on weak compactness of subsets of L1,(μ, X) can be derived as a simple corollary of James's theorem. It is a pleasure to acknowledge several stimulating conserversations with Dave Emmons and the remarks of an anonymous referee. Errors are, of course, solely mine.

Let G be a finite abelian group, and Y be a closed surface. The problems of classifying and enumerating the free and effective G-actions on Y modulo selfhomeomorphisms of Y and X = Y/G can be transferred into ones of classifying regular G-coverings on X. P. A. Smith [7], proved that for any prime number p there are pr(r–1)/2 equivalence classes of free (ℤp)r actions on Y provided that rℤgenus of X. This paper is devoted to the classification and the enumeration of regular G-covering surfaces, when G is any finite abelian group. Recently, A. Edmonds [2] classified the G-actions on closed surfaces by their G-bordism classes in the set (G) of free oriented G-cobordism classes of free oriented G-surfaces.

In [13], Poincaré asked the following question: Which abstract groups can appear as monodromy groups [14] of second order, linear, homogeneous differential equations with meromorphic coefficients (which might depend on one or more parameters) on ℂ? In the present paper, we initiate a classification of monodromy groups of differential equations on compact Riemann surfaces of genus 1. We proceed as follows: Let

be the general Euler equation [1] which has two regular singular points at 0 and λ in the extended complex plane C. Further, let yu(z)(v – 1,2) be an arbitrary but fixed pair of linearly independent solutions to (1) valid in a neighborhood of some ordinary point. Analytic continuation of each solution along a closed loop A in C–{0, λ}, starting and ending at some fixed base point, produces a new solution yv,A (v = 1, 2) which can be expressed as

where the constants avlx (v1 ν = l,2) in C depend on the homotopy class [A] of A. Clearly, y1,A(z)/y2,A(z) = To(y1(z)/y2(z)) where the Möbius transformation T:w→ (a11W + a12)/(a21W + a22) depends on [A]. The set of all Mobius transformations T belonging to every possible closed loop A in C–{0,λ} forms a group G, called the monodromy group of the Euler equation (1). G is generated by the Mobius transformation belonging to a simple, closed loop Ao encircling 0. Hence, G is cyclic.