An Engel condition with generalized derivations on multilinear polynomials. (Q926400)

Let \(R\) be a prime ring with center \(Z(R)\), extended centroid \(C\), nonzero right ideal \(I\), right Utumi quotient ring \(U\), and nonzero generalized derivation \(g\). Set \(f=f(x_1,\dots,x_n)\), a multilinear polynomial over \(C\) in noncommuting indeterminates so that the evaluations in \(R\) satisfy \(f(R^n)\nsubseteq C\). The purpose of this paper is to determine the consequence of assuming that \(F(R^n)=0\) for \(F(y_1,\dots,y_n)=[g(f(y_1,\dots,y_n)),f(y_1,\dots,y_n)]\). The author proves a lemma showing that if \(F(I^n)=0\) then \(R\) satisfies a generalized polynomial identity unless \(g(r)=ar\) for some \(a\in U\) and \((a-\lambda)I=0\) for some \(\lambda\in C\). The first theorem assumes that for \(a,b\in R\), \([af(r_1,\dots,r_n)-f(r_1,\dots,r_n)b,f(r_1,\dots,r_n)]=0\) for all \(r_i\in R\) and proves that either \(a,b\in Z(R)\), \(f^2(R^n)\subseteq C\) and \(a+b\in C\), or \(\text{char\,}R=2\) and \(R\) satisfies the standard identity \(S_4\). This result is extended to evaluation in \(I\) rather than in \(R\), and then to the main result, which assumes \(F(I^n)=0\) and shows that either \(g(x)=ax\) and \((a-\lambda)I=0\), as above, or there is \(e^2=e\in\text{soc}(RC)\) with \(IC=eRC\) and one of the following holds: \(f((eRCe)^n)\subseteq eC\); \(g(x)=cx+xb\) with \((c+b+\alpha)e=0\) for some \(\alpha\in C\), and \(f^2((eRCe)^n)\subseteq eC\); or \(\text{char\,}R=2\) and \(eRCe\) satisfies \(S_4\).