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Central Simple Algebra
In ring theory and related areas of mathematics a central simple algebra (CSA) over a field ''K'' is a finite-dimensional associative ''K''-algebra ''A'' which is simple, and for which the center is exactly ''K''. (Note that ''not'' every simple algebra is a central simple algebra over its center: for instance, if ''K'' is a field of characteristic 0, then the Weyl algebra K ,\partial_X/math> is a simple algebra with center ''K'', but is ''not'' a central simple algebra over ''K'' as it has infinite dimension as a ''K''-module.) For example, the complex numbers C form a CSA over themselves, but not over the real numbers R (the center of C is all of C, not just R). The quaternions H form a 4-dimensional CSA over R, and in fact represent the only non-trivial element of the Brauer group of the reals (see below). Given two central simple algebras ''A'' ~ ''M''(''n'',''S'') and ''B'' ~ ''M''(''m'',''T'') over the same field ''F'', ''A'' and ''B'' are called ''similar'' (or '' Bra ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ring Theory
In algebra, ring theory is the study of rings—algebraic structures in which addition and multiplication are defined and have similar properties to those operations defined for the integers. Ring theory studies the structure of rings, their representations, or, in different language, modules, special classes of rings (group rings, division rings, universal enveloping algebras), as well as an array of properties that proved to be of interest both within the theory itself and for its applications, such as homological properties and polynomial identities. Commutative rings are much better understood than noncommutative ones. Algebraic geometry and algebraic number theory, which provide many natural examples of commutative rings, have driven much of the development of commutative ring theory, which is now, under the name of ''commutative algebra'', a major area of modern mathematics. Because these three fields (algebraic geometry, algebraic number theory and commutative al ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |