Some remarks on non-commutative principal ideal rings (Q1942066)

The paper under review is a continuation of the study of algebraic properties of rings of matrix differential operators initiated in the two previous works by the same authors, [``Some algebraic properties of differential operators'', J. Math. Phys. 53, No. 6, 063501, 12 p. (2012)] and [``Rational matrix pseudodifferential operators'', \url{arXiv:1206.4165}]. The authors prove some new results on non-commutative principal ideal rings that include the following statements (Theorem 3.1 and Corollary 3.2): Let \(R\) be a left and right principal ideal ring and let \(Q(R)\) be its ring of fractions. Let \(f = ab^{-1} = a_{1}b_{1}^{-1}\in Q(R)\) (respectively, \(f = b^{-1}a = b_{1}^{-1}a_{1}\in Q(R)\)\,), with \(a, a_{1}, b, b_{1}\in R\) and \(b, b_{1}\) regular, and assume that \(a_{1}\) and \(b_{1}\) are right (respectively, left) coprime. Then there exists a regular element \(q\in R\) such that \(a = a_{1}q\) and \(b = b_{1}q\) (respectively, \(a = qa_{1}\) and \(b = qb_{1}\)). Furthermore, for every \(f\in Q(R)\), there is a ``minimal'' right (respectively, ``left'') fractional decomposition \(f= ab^{-1}\) (respectively, \(f=b^{-1}a\)) with \(a, b\) right (respectively, left) coprime. Any other right (respectively, left) fractional decomposition is obtained from it by simultaneous multiplication of \(a\) and \(b\) on the right (respectively, on the left) by some regular element \(q\in R\). The central result of the paper is Theorem 3.3: Let \(R\) be as above, let \(V\) be a left \(R\)-module, and let \(R\) contain a central regular element \(r\) such that \(r-1\) is regular too. Furthermore, let \(a, b\in R\), with \(b\) regular, be left coprime and let \(m=ab_{1}= ba_{1}\) be their right least common multiple. Then for every \(x, y\in V\) such that \(ax = by\), there exists \(z\in V\) such that \(x = b_{1}z\) and \(y = a_{1}z\). In particular, \(aV\cap bV = mV\). This result and some of its consequences are applied to the ring of matrix differential operators. In particular (considering the ring \(\mathcal{R} = \text{Mat}_{l\times l}\mathcal{K}[\partial]\) of \(l\times l\) matrix differential operators), the authors show that if \(b^{-1}a = a_{1}b_{1}^{-1}\) is a rational matrix pseudodifferential operator in its minimal left and right fractional decompositions, then the degrees of the Dieudonné determinants of \(b\) and \(b_{1}\) are equal.