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On GL2(R) Where R is a Boolean Ring

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 November 2018

Joseph G. Rosenstein*
Affiliation:
Rutgers University, New Brunswick, New Jersey
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In this paper we characterize the 2 × 2 invertible matrices over a Boolean ring, and, using this characterization, show that every invertible matrix has order dividing 6. This suggests that GL2 of a Boolean ring is built up out of copies of the symmetric group S3. Indeed, if B is a finite Boolean ring, then GL2(B) turns out to be a direct sum of copies of S3. If B is infinite, then GL2(B) is more difficult to calculate; we present here descriptions of GL2(B) for the "extreme" cases of countable Boolean rings—namely, the Boolean ring which is generated by its atoms and the atomless Boolean ring. The former provides a negative answer to the question of whether the functor GL2(⋅) preserves inverse limits; the latter is a corollary of a theorem which states that, under certain circumstances, GL2(⋅) preserves direct limits. It turns out, in addition, that every invertible matrix is a product of elementary ones, as is the case for matrices over a Euclidean domain.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © Canadian Mathematical Society 1972

References

1. Cohn, P. M., On the structure of the GL2 of a ring, Publ. Dép. Math. No. 30, Inst. Hautes Etudes Sci., 1966.Google Scholar
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3. Engeler, E., A characterization of theories with isomorphic denumerable models, Notices. Amer. Math. Soc. 6 (1959), p. 161.Google Scholar