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Abelian Groups - László Fuchs [Springer]

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8 Multiplicative <strong>Groups</strong> of Fields 705<br />

regard satisfactory, namely, by a set of sentences of the first-order language of group theory. As a<br />

matter of fact, S.R. Kogalowski [Dokl. Akad. Nauk SSSR 140, 1005–1007 (1961)] has shown that<br />

the class of multiplicative groups of fields is not arithmetically closed in the sense of A.I. Malcev,<br />

and so not axiomatizable; cf. also Sabbagh [1].<br />

There are numerous remarkable results on the multiplicative structure of fields. To discuss any<br />

of these results in detail would take us too far afield: the proofs are intricate arguments based on<br />

theorems in field theory. A serious attempt to clarify the multiplicative structures of fields was<br />

undertaken by W. May who proved several substantial theorems, of which the most significant is<br />

perhaps the one that describes the multiplicative group up to a free factor: Given a group A whose<br />

torsion subgroup is a subgroup of Q=Z and has a non-trivial 2-component, there exists a field K of<br />

characteristic 0 such that K Š A F with a free group F. Regretfully, we cannot go more deeply<br />

into the subject, we cannot even sketch here the proof of this result; see May [1]. Another result of<br />

his tells us about the change of unit groups under certain field extensions [3].<br />

Exercises<br />

(1) The additive and the multiplicative groups of a field are never isomorphic.<br />

(2) (a) A finite group is isomorphic to the multiplicative group of a field exactly if<br />

it is cyclic of order p n 1 for some prime p and integer n 1.<br />

(b) A finite group is the torsion subgroup of the multiplicative group of a field<br />

exactly if it is cyclic of even order or of the form indicated in (a).<br />

(3) (Schenkman) Let N be the field generated by all algebraic numbers of degree<br />

n, forafixedn 2. ThenN is a direct product of cyclic groups. [Hint: N<br />

does not contain mth root of 1 for m >4nŠ; use Pontryagin’s theorem.]<br />

(4) A field K of characteristic p is called perfect if irreducible polynomials in KŒx<br />

have only simple roots. Show that to be perfect it is necessary and sufficient that<br />

K be p-divisible.<br />

(5) (Sabbagh) The group Q ˚ Z.2/ is not isomorphic to the multiplicative group of<br />

any field.<br />

Problems to Chapter 18<br />

PROBLEM 18.1. If a torsion-free group can support a left noetherian ring, can it<br />

also support a two-sided (or a commutative) noetherian ring?<br />

PROBLEM 18.2 (Niedzwecki–Reid [1]). Study the additive structure of a ring<br />

modulo the pure subgroup generated by 1.<br />

PROBLEM 18.3. Given A, define groups A n .n

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