Butler theory over Murley groups (Q1383948)

A (torsion-free abelian) group \(G\) of finite rank is a Murley group if for each prime \(p\), \(\dim(G/pG)\) \(\leq 1\), where \(\dim(G/pG)\) is the vector space dimension of \(G/pG\) over the field \(Z/pZ\) of integers modulo \(p\). The group \(G\) is called irreducible if \(G\) has no proper pure fully invariant subgroups. In a number of important ways, indecomposable irreducible Murley groups behave like rank-one groups. For example (Theorem 1.1), if \(A\) is an indecomposable group then any epimorphism \(A^n\to B\), with \(B\) torsion-free reduced, splits if and only if \(A\) is an irreducible Murley group. All indecomposable irreducible Murley groups \(A\) have the form \(X\otimes_Z\text{End}_Z(A)\), where \(X\) is a subgroup of the additive rationals \(\mathbb{Q}\), and \(\text{End}(A)\) has additive group that is indecomposable, irreducible and Murley. In particular, \(R=\text{End}(A)\) is a PID in which \(pR\) is maximal whenever \(p\) is an integral prime with \(pR\neq R\). These considerations lead the authors to investigate the class of Butler \(R\)-modules, where \(R\) is a ring whose additive group is an irreducible indecomposable Murley group. The class of Butler \(R\)-modules is the collection of balanced images of finite direct sums of rank-one \(R\)-modules. The two main theorems below show that a fresh look at Murley groups was a worthwhile endeavor. Theorem 2.7. Let \(R\) be a ring whose additive group is an indecomposable Murley group. The following conditions are equivalent for a reduced torsion-free abelian group \(G\) of finite rank: (a) \(G\) is an \(R\)-module that is also a Butler \(R\)-module; (b) \(G\) is the image of a finite direct sum of groups of the form \(R\otimes X\) with \(X\) a subgroup of the rationals \(\mathbb{Q}\). (c) \(G\) is a pure subgroup of a finite direct sum of groups of the form \(R\otimes X\), \(X\subseteq\mathbb{Q}\), and \(G\) is the epimorphic image of a (not necessarily finite) direct sum of such groups. (d) \(G\) is the image of a direct sum of copies of \(R\) such that (i) \(\text{Typeset}(G)\) is finite; and (ii) For every type \(\tau\), \(G(\tau)=\langle G^*(\tau)\rangle_*\oplus P\) with \(P\) a direct sum of groups of the form \(R\otimes X\), \(X\subseteq\mathbb{Q}\), and \(\text{type}(X)=\tau\); (iii) \(\langle G^*(\tau)\rangle_*/G^*(\tau)\) is finite for all types \(\tau\). Theorem 2.10. Let \(R\) be a ring whose additive group is indecomposable and Murley. Then a torsion-free reduced group \(M\) of finite rank is a Butler \(R\)-module if and only if \(M=R\otimes_Z B\) for some Butler group \(B\).