A clear and structured introduction to the subject. After a chapter on the definition of rings and modules there are brief accounts of Artinian rings, commutative Noetherian rings and ring constructions, such as the direct product, Tensor product and rings of fractions, followed by a description of free rings. Readers are assumed to have a basic understanding of set theory, group theory and vector spaces. Over two hundred carefully selected exercises are included, most with outline solutions.
Based in large part on the comprehensive "First Course in Ring Theory" by the same author, this book provides a comprehensive set of problems and solutions in ring theory that will serve not only as a teaching aid to instructors using that book, but also for students, who will see how ring theory theorems are applied to solving ring-theoretic problems and how good proofs are written. The author demonstrates that problem-solving is a lively process: in "Comments" following many solutions he discusses what happens if a hypothesis is removed, whether the exercise can be further generalized, what would be a concrete example for the exercise, and so forth. The book is thus much more than a solution manual.
The book is mainly concerned with the theory of rings in which both maximal and minimal conditions hold for ideals (except in the last chapter, where rings of the type of a maximal order in an algebra are considered). The central idea consists of representing rings as rings of endomorphisms of an additive group, which can be achieved by means of the regular representation.
Topics in Commutative Ring Theory is a textbook for advanced undergraduate students as well as graduate students and mathematicians seeking an accessible introduction to this fascinating area of abstract algebra. Commutative ring theory arose more than a century ago to address questions in geometry and number theory. A commutative ring is a set-such as the integers, complex numbers, or polynomials with real coefficients--with two operations, addition and multiplication. Starting from this simple definition, John Watkins guides readers from basic concepts to Noetherian rings-one of the most important classes of commutative rings--and beyond to the frontiers of current research in the field. Each chapter includes problems that encourage active reading--routine exercises as well as problems that build technical skills and reinforce new concepts. The final chapter is devoted to new computational techniques now available through computers. Careful to avoid intimidating theorems and proofs whenever possible, Watkins emphasizes the historical roots of the subject, like the role of commutative rings in Fermat's last theorem. He leads readers into unexpected territory with discussions on rings of continuous functions and the set-theoretic foundations of mathematics. Written by an award-winning teacher, this is the first introductory textbook to require no prior knowledge of ring theory to get started. Refreshingly informal without ever sacrificing mathematical rigor, Topics in Commutative Ring Theory is an ideal resource for anyone seeking entry into this stimulating field of study.
