In
mathematics
Mathematics is an area of knowledge that includes the topics of numbers, formulas and related structures, shapes and the spaces in which they are contained, and quantities and their changes. These topics are represented in modern mathematics ...
, especially in
commutative algebra
Commutative algebra, first known as ideal theory, is the branch of algebra that studies commutative rings, their ideals, and modules over such rings. Both algebraic geometry and algebraic number theory build on commutative algebra. Prom ...
, certain
prime ideal
In algebra, a prime ideal is a subset of a ring that shares many important properties of a prime number in the ring of integers. The prime ideals for the integers are the sets that contain all the multiples of a given prime number, together wi ...
s called minimal prime ideals play an important role in understanding
rings and
modules
Broadly speaking, modularity is the degree to which a system's components may be separated and recombined, often with the benefit of flexibility and variety in use. The concept of modularity is used primarily to reduce complexity by breaking a s ...
. The notion of
height
Height is measure of vertical distance, either vertical extent (how "tall" something or someone is) or vertical position (how "high" a point is).
For example, "The height of that building is 50 m" or "The height of an airplane in-flight is ab ...
and
Krull's principal ideal theorem use minimal primes.
Definition
A prime ideal ''P'' is said to be a minimal prime ideal over an ideal ''I'' if it is minimal among all prime ideals containing ''I''. (Note: if ''I'' is a prime ideal, then ''I'' is the only minimal prime over it.) A prime ideal is said to be a minimal prime ideal if it is a minimal prime ideal over the
zero ideal.
A minimal prime ideal over an ideal ''I'' in a Noetherian ring ''R'' is precisely a minimal
associated prime (also called isolated prime) of
; this follows for instance from the
primary decomposition
In mathematics, the Lasker–Noether theorem states that every Noetherian ring is a Lasker ring, which means that every ideal can be decomposed as an intersection, called primary decomposition, of finitely many '' primary ideals'' (which are relate ...
of ''I''.
Examples
* In a commutative
artinian ring In mathematics, specifically abstract algebra, an Artinian ring (sometimes Artin ring) is a ring that satisfies the descending chain condition on (one-sided) ideals; that is, there is no infinite descending sequence of ideals. Artinian rings are ...
, every
maximal ideal
In mathematics, more specifically in ring theory, a maximal ideal is an ideal that is maximal (with respect to set inclusion) amongst all ''proper'' ideals. In other words, ''I'' is a maximal ideal of a ring ''R'' if there are no other ideals c ...
is a minimal prime ideal.
* In an
integral domain
In mathematics, specifically abstract algebra, an integral domain is a nonzero commutative ring in which the product of any two nonzero elements is nonzero. Integral domains are generalizations of the ring of integers and provide a natural s ...
, the only minimal prime ideal is the zero ideal.
* In the ring Z 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, the minimal prime ideals over a nonzero
principal ideal
In mathematics, specifically ring theory, a principal ideal is an ideal I in a ring R that is generated by a single element a of R through multiplication by every element of R. The term also has another, similar meaning in order theory, where ...
(''n'') are the principal ideals (''p''), where ''p'' is a prime divisor of ''n''. The only minimal prime ideal over the zero ideal is the zero ideal itself. Similar statements hold for any
principal ideal domain
In mathematics, a principal ideal domain, or PID, is an integral domain in which every ideal is principal, i.e., can be generated by a single element. More generally, a principal ideal ring is a nonzero commutative ring whose ideals are principa ...
.
* If ''I'' is a ''p''-
primary ideal (for example, a
symbolic power of ''p''), then ''p'' is the unique minimal prime ideal over ''I''.
* The ideals
and
are the minimal prime ideals in
since they are the
extension
Extension, extend or extended may refer to:
Mathematics
Logic or set theory
* Axiom of extensionality
* Extensible cardinal
* Extension (model theory)
* Extension (predicate logic), the set of tuples of values that satisfy the predicate
* Ext ...
of prime ideals for the morphism
, contain the zero ideal (which is not prime since
, but, neither
nor
are contained in the zero ideal) and are not contained in any other prime ideal.
* In