In
abstract algebra
In mathematics, more specifically algebra, abstract algebra or modern algebra is the study of algebraic structures. Algebraic structures include group (mathematics), groups, ring (mathematics), rings, field (mathematics), fields, module (mathe ...
, an
element of a
ring is called a left zero divisor if there exists a nonzero in such that , or equivalently if the map from to that sends to is not
injective. Similarly, an
element of a ring is called a right zero divisor if there exists a nonzero in such that . This is a partial case of
divisibility
In mathematics, a divisor of an integer n, also called a factor of n, is an integer m that may be multiplied by some integer to produce n. In this case, one also says that n is a multiple of m. An integer n is divisible or evenly divisible by ...
in rings. An element that is a left or a right zero divisor is simply called a zero divisor.
An element that is both a left and a right zero divisor is called a two-sided zero divisor (the nonzero such that may be different from the nonzero such that ). If the
ring is commutative, then the left and right zero divisors are the same.
An element of a ring that is not a left zero divisor is called left regular or left cancellable. Similarly, an element of a ring that is not a right zero divisor is called right regular or right cancellable.
An element of a ring that is left and right cancellable, and is hence not a zero divisor, is called regular or cancellable, or a non-zero-divisor. A zero divisor that is nonzero is called a nonzero zero divisor or a nontrivial zero divisor. A nonzero ring with no nontrivial zero divisors is called a
domain.
Examples
* In the
ring , the residue class
is a zero divisor since
.
* The only zero divisor of the ring
of
integer
An integer is the number zero (), a positive natural number (, , , etc.) or a negative integer with a minus sign ( −1, −2, −3, etc.). The negative numbers are the additive inverses of the corresponding positive numbers. In the languag ...
s is
.
* A
nilpotent
In mathematics, an element x of a ring R is called nilpotent if there exists some positive integer n, called the index (or sometimes the degree), such that x^n=0.
The term was introduced by Benjamin Peirce in the context of his work on the cla ...
element of a nonzero ring is always a two-sided zero divisor.
* An
idempotent element
Idempotence (, ) is the property of certain operations in mathematics and computer science whereby they can be applied multiple times without changing the result beyond the initial application. The concept of idempotence arises in a number of pl ...
of a ring is always a two-sided zero divisor, since
.
* The
ring of matrices over a
field has nonzero zero divisors if
. Examples of zero divisors in the ring of
matrices (over any
nonzero ring) are shown here:
*A
direct product of two or more
nonzero rings always has nonzero zero divisors. For example, in
with each
nonzero,
, so
is a zero divisor.
*Let
be a
field and
be a
group
A group is a number of persons or things that are located, gathered, or classed together.
Groups of people
* Cultural group, a group whose members share the same cultural identity
* Ethnic group, a group whose members share the same ethnic ide ...
. Suppose that
has an element
of finite
order . Then in the
group ring
In algebra, a group ring is a free module and at the same time a ring, constructed in a natural way from any given ring and any given group. As a free module, its ring of scalars is the given ring, and its basis is the set of elements of the giv ...