On \(n\)-trivial extensions of rings (Q1697442)

The trivial extension of a ring \(R\) by an \(R\)-module \(M\), introduced by \textit{M. Nagata} [Local rings. New York and London: Interscience Publishers (1962; Zbl 0123.03402)], is the ring usually denoted by \(R \ltimes M\), whose underlying additive group is \(R \oplus M\), with multiplication given by \((r, m)(r', m') := (rr', rm' + mr')\). The trivial extension of rings (also called idealization, since it reduces questions about modules to ideals) has been extensively studied and used in ring theory as well as in various other areas of research such as module theory, cohomology theory, representation theory, category theory and homological algebra and has been very useful for producing examples and counter-examples. In the present paper, the authors extend this classical ring construction by associating a new ring to a given ring \(R\) and a given family \( M = (M_i\mid 1 \leq i \leq n)\)) of \(n\) \(R\)-modules, for a given positive integer \(n\). This new ring construction denoted by \(R \ltimes_n M\) is called an \(n\)-trivial extension of \(R\) by \(M\) (the classical trivial extension is precisely the 1-trivial extension). In the present paper, the authors not only generalize several results concerning the classical trivial extension to the setting of \(n\)-trivial extensions, but they also prove some interesting new ones. Furthermore, various ring-theoretic constructions and properties of \(n\)-trivial extensions are studied, and a detailed investigation of the graded aspect of \(n\)-trivial extensions is also given. Finally, the authors investigate various divisibility properties in case of \(n\)-trivial extensions.