FPF rings characterized by two-generated faithful modules (Q1282240)

A ring \(R\) is called right FPF if each finitely generated faithful right \(R\)-module generates the category Mod-\(R\) of all right \(R\)-modules. In the first section of this paper it is shown that if \(R\) is a semiperfect ring with basic idempotent \(e\) then the following conditions are equivalent: (a) \(R\) is right FPF; (b) all faithful factors of \((eR)^2\) generate Mod-\(R\); (c) there is no proper faithful factor of \(eR\) and \(eR+xeR\) generates Mod-\(R\) for every \(x\in E(R)\) (where \(E(M)\) denotes the injective hull of the \(R\)-module \(M\)); (d) up to isomorphism, \(eR\) is the only faithful factor of \(eR\) and the only finitely generated faithful submodule of \(E(eR)\). From this it follows that a semiperfect ring \(R\) is right FPF if and only if every 2-generated faithful right \(R\)-module generates Mod-\(R\). However, as the author notes in his introduction, it is as yet unknown if this remains true without the semiperfect assumption. The main result of section 2 says that if \(R\) is a commutaitive ring with \(E=E(R)\) then the following conditions are equivalent: (a) \(R\) is FPF; (b) \(R+xR\) generates Mod-\(R\) for every \(x\in E\); (c) \(R+xR\) is projective for every \(x\in E\); (d) for every \(x\in E\) there are \(a,b\in R\) such that \(ax\in R\) and \(a+xb=1\); (e) for every maximal ideal \(\mathbf m\) of the Boolean algebra of idempotents of \(R\) and every \(x_{\mathbf m}\in E_{\mathbf m}\), there are \(a_{\mathbf m},b_{\mathbf m}\in R_{\mathbf m}\) with \(a_{\mathbf m}x_{\mathbf m}\in R_{\mathbf m}\) and \(a_{\mathbf m}+x_{\mathbf m}b_{\mathbf m}=1_{\mathbf m}\), where, for each \(R\)-module \(X\) and each \(x\in X\), \(X_{\mathbf m}\) denotes the Pierce stalk \(X/X{\mathbf m}\) of \(X\) at \(\mathbf m\) and \(x_{\mathbf m}\) is the image of \(x\) in \(X_{\mathbf m}\). From this it follows that a commutative ring \(R\) is FPF if every 2-generated faithful \(R\)-module generates Mod-\(R\). The proofs of these two ``2-generated'' results follow from a number of interesting lemmas. Finally, the author generalises a theorem of \textit{C. Faith} [J. Pure Appl. Algebra 31, 7-27 (1984; Zbl 0546.13011)] by showing that if \(R\) is a commutative ring with maximal quotient ring \(Q\) then the following are equivalent: (a) \(R\) is FPF; (b) every finitely generated submodule of \(E\) containing \(R\) is invertible, i.e., \(M(R:M)=R\); (c) \(Q\) is self-injective and for every subring \(S\) of \(Q\) containing \(R\) the inclusion map \(R\to S\) is a flat epimorphism; (d) \(Q\) is self-injective and every subring of \(Q\) containing \(R\) is integrally closed in \(Q\).