Locally \(A\)-projective Abelian groups and generalizations (Q1175071)

Let \(A\) be an abelian group. An abelian group \(G\) is locally \(A\)-projective if every finite subset of \(G\) is contained in a direct summand \(P\) of \(G\) which is isomorphic to a direct summand of \(+_IA\) for some index set \(I\). Locally \(A\)-projective groups are discussed without the usual assumption that the endomorphism ring of \(A\) is hereditary, a setting in which virtually nothing is known about these groups. The results of this paper generalize structure theorems for homogeneous separable torsion-free groups and locally free modules over principal ideal domains. Furthermore, it is shown that the conditions on \(A\) imposed in this paper cannot be relaxed, in general. (Author) Throughout, \(A\) is an abelian group with endomorphism ring \(E(A)\). For an abelian group \(G\), the author introduces the notion of an \(A\)-projective dimension of \(G\). It is shown that the \(A\)-projective dimension of an \(A\)-solvable group \(G\) is well defined and, under some restrictions on \(A\), coincides with the projective dimension of the right \(E(A)\)-module \(\Hom(A,G)\); if \(G\) is locally \(A\)-projective and an epimorphic image of \(\bigoplus_{\aleph_n}A\), then \(G\) has \(A\)-projective dimension at most \(n\). The group \(G\) is said to be \(A\)-solvable if the natural evaluation map from \(\Hom(A,G)\otimes_{E(A)}\) \(A\) to \(G\) is an isomorphism; an \(A\)-projective group is a direct summand of a direct sum of copies of \(A\); and \(G\) is locally \(A\)-projective if every finite subset of \(G\) is contained in an \(A\)-projective direct summand of \(G\). A theorem of \textit{B. L. Osofsky} on the projective dimension of torsion-free modules over valuation domains [Trans. Am. Math. Soc. 127, 136--149 (1967; Zbl 0145.27602)] is extended to a wider class of rings. Several examples are provided demonstrating the necessity of hypotheses and the properness of generalizations.