Endomorphism rings of Abelian groups. (Q1411399)

Given the title of this book, the first question to ask is: Why study endomorphism rings of Abelian groups? The authors provide three groups of reasons. First, we may acquire additional information about Abelian groups, develop new concepts and methods, and determine new interesting classes of groups to examine. Second, we may stimulate the development of the theory of more general modules and endomorphism rings. Third, we may illuminate the structure of the additive groups of rings and modules, as well as the homological properties of Abelian groups. In this book, the variety of methods, the beauty of the results, and the appeal of the open problems provide ample justification for the authors' rationale. Given an Abelian group \(A\), we can examine first the ring of endomorphisms \(\text{End}_\mathbb{Z}(A)\) and then the group \(A\) as an \(\text{End}_\mathbb{Z}(A)\)-module. A wide variety of tools are available for such a study, and the reader of ``Endomorphism Rings'' is assumed to have some familiarity with the theories of Abelian groups, rings, and modules. The book is divided into seven chapters, as sketched briefly below. Chapter I (General Results on Endomorphism Rings). Two sections of basic definitions and results are followed by a section of examples and properties of endomorphism rings. Then there are four sections on torsion-free Abelian groups, including a discussion of the quasi-endomorphism ring and the irreducible groups of J. D. Reid. Chapter II (Groups as Modules over Their Endomorphism Rings). Some of the examined properties of such ``endo-modules'' are respectively Artinian, Noetherian, flat, finitely generated, and projective. Chapter III (Ring Properties of Endomorphism Rings). After a section on the finite topology, the chapter deals with endomorphism rings that have the dcc or the acc, as well as with regular, commutative, and local rings. Chapter IV (Jacobson Radical). The importance of the Jacobson Radical in ring theory is well known. Here is examined the radical of endomorphism rings of \(p\)-groups, torsion-free finite rank groups, algebraically compact groups, and completely decomposable groups. Chapter V (Isomorphism and Realization). (1) To what extent does \(\text{End}_\mathbb{Z}(A)\) determine \(A\)? Answers to this question are called `isomorphism theorems'. The most famous is due to Baer-Kaplansky: If \(A\) and \(B\) are torsion-groups with isomorphic endomorphism rings, then every isomorphism between \(\text{End}_\mathbb{Z}(A)\) and \(\text{End}_\mathbb{Z}(B)\) is induced by an isomorphism between \(A\) and \(B\). (2) Given a ring \(R\), when is \(R=\text{End}_\mathbb{Z}(A)\) for some Abelian group \(A\)? Answers to this question are called `realization theorems'. Here the model is ``Corner's Theorem'': A countable, reduced, torsion-free ring \(R\) with identity is the endomorphism ring of an Abelian group of twice the rank. It should be noted that this chapter does not contain any of the extensive work on realization that uses the Black Box of Shelah. Chapter VI (Hereditary Endomorphism Rings). This chapter, the longest in the book, brings together the results of the previous chapters to produce theorems that represent the pinnacle of the interplay between \(A\), \(\text{End}_\mathbb{Z}(A)\) and the module structure of \(_{\text{End}_\mathbb{Z}(A)}A\). The contents extend well beyond the title of the chapter, including self-small groups, equivalence of categories of groups and categories of modules over endomorphism rings, faithful groups, endo-flat groups, groups with right hereditary endomorphism rings, groups of generalized rank 1, maximal orders as endomorphism rings, and MOP-semisimple groups. Chapter VII (Fully Transitive Groups). A group is fully transitive (ft) if for any two elements \(a,b\in A\), with \(\text{height}(a)\leq\text{height}(b)\), there is an endomorphism of \(A\) mapping \(a\) to \(b\). Topics covered include homogeneous ft groups, ft groups whose quasi-endomorphism ring is a division ring, and torsion-free groups of \(p\text{-ranks}\leq 1\). The book is largely self-contained, although some proofs are given by reference when too much extra material is required. Helpful and challenging sets of exercises appear at the end of each section and open problems are listed at the end of each chapter. This work will be valuable as a text book for a graduate course, a reference on a lively area of mathematics, and a guide to appealing research problems.