We obtain an effective analytic formula, with explicit constants, for the number of distinct irreducible factors of a polynomial $f \in \mathbb {Z}[x]$ . We use an explicit version of Mertens’ theorem for number fields to estimate a related sum over rational primes. For a given $f \in \mathbb {Z}[x]$ , our result yields a finite list of primes that certifies the number of distinct irreducible factors of f.

The prime, completely prime, maximal, and primitive spectra are classified for the universal enveloping algebra of the Schrödinger algebra. The explicit generators are given for all of these ideals. A counterexample is constructed to the conjecture of Cheng and Zhang about nonexistence of simple singular Whittaker modules for the Schrödinger algebra (and all such modules are classified). It is proved that the conjecture holds ‘generically’.

We give a description of the continuity ideals and the kernels of homomorphisms from the algebras of continuous functions on locally compact spaces into Banach algebras. We also construct families of prime ideals satisfying a certain intriguing property in the algebras of continuous functions.

Let R and S be commutative rings, not necessarily with identity. We investigate the ideals, prime ideals, radical ideals, primary ideals, and maximal ideals of R×S. Unlike the case where R and S have an identity, an ideal (or primary ideal, or maximal ideal) of R×S need not be a ‘subproduct’ I×J of ideals. We show that for a ring R, for each commutative ring S every ideal (or primary ideal, or maximal ideal) is a subproduct if and only if R is an e-ring (that is, for r∈R, there exists er∈R with err=r) (or u-ring (that is, for each proper ideal A of R, )), the Abelian group (R/R2 ,+) has no maximal subgroups).

We study topological properties of the correspondence of prime spectra associated with a non-commutative ring homomorphism $R\rightarrow S$. Our main result provides criteria for the adjointness of certain functors between the categories of Zariski closed subsets of $\spec R$ and $\spec S$; these functors arise naturally from restriction and extension of scalars. When $R$ and $S$ are left Noetherian, adjointness occurs only for centralizing and ‘nearly centralizing’ homomorphisms.

It is proved that if u is an element of a faithful algebra over a commutative ring R, then u satisfies a polynomial over R which has unit content if and only if the extension R ⊂ R[u] has the imcomparability property. Applications include new proofs of results of Gilmer-Hoffmann and Papick, as well as a characterization of the P-extensions introduced by Gilmer and Hoffmann.

This paper is devoted to a study of pseudocomplements in groupoids. A characterization of an intraregular groupoid is obtained in terms of prime ideals. It is proved that the set of dense elements of an intraregular groupoid S with 0 is the intersection of all the maximal filters of S and that the set of normal elements of an intraregular groupoid closed for pseudocomplements forms a Boolean algebra under natural operations. It is shown that the pseudocomplement of an ideal of an intraregular groupoid with 0 is the intersection of all the minimal prime ideas not containing it.