Almost slender rings and compact rings (Q1713012)

Let \(R\) be a commutative ring with identity and \(1_n\) be the element of \(R^{\mathbb{N}}\) with 1 on the \(n\)-th coordinate and 0 elsewhere. For \(\phi:R^{\mathbb{N}} \to R\) set \(\phi_n=\phi(1_n)\). Then \(R\) is said to be slender (resp. almost slender) when there is no \(R\)-linear map \(\phi:R^{\mathbb{N}} \to R\) such that \(\phi_n\neq 0\) (resp. \(\phi_n\) is regular) for all \(n\). On the other hand, \(R\) is called \(\aleph_0\)-compact when there is an \(R\)-linear map \(\phi: R^{\mathbb{N}} \to R\) such that \(\phi_n=1\) for all \(n\). In this paper, slenderness, almost slenderness, compactness and some other similar properties are studied in commutative rings with zero divisors. This is a continuation of an earlier work of the authors [Forum Math. 29, 893--904 (2017; Zbl 1369.13007)] in which these properties are investigated in integral domains. The authors relate these conditions to completeness of \(R\) with respect to non-discrete Hausdorff filtrations (that is, a chain of ideals \(I_1\supseteq I_2 \supseteq \cdots\) of \(R\) with \(I_n\neq 0\) for all \(n\) and \(\bigcap I_n=0\)). For example, they prove that if \(R\) is complete with respect to such a filtration, then \(R\) is not slender. The converse is also true, if we assume that \(R\) is Noetherian and has no simple ideals. Moreover, they investigate slenderness and compactness in subrings of \({\mathbb{N}}\)-graded or \({\mathbb{Z}}\)-graded rings. As a corollary to their results, they deduce that ``a polynomial ring in any positive number of variables over an arbitrary ring is slender, and the associated ring of formal power series is not almost slender.'' The authors also consider a condition on rings which they call being ``of bounded type''. This condition imposes some upper bounds on the number of generators of \(R\). In particular, every countably generated algebra over an Artinian ring is of bounded type. They show that rings of bounded type are not complete with respect to any non-discrete Hausdorff filtration and use this to get results on slenderness and compactness of such rings. For example, they show that a reduced ring of bounded type without simple ideals is slender and if the nilradical of a ring of bounded type \(R\) is finitely generated, then both conditions of being \(\aleph_0\)-compact and not being almost slender are equivalent to being Artinian. Some of other important results of the paper are as follows. It worths mentioning that the paper also contains a lot of examples which illustrate the results and constructions. Assume \(R=k^{\mathbb{N}}/k^{(\mathbb{N})}\) for some commutative ring \(k\). Then \(R\) is slender if \(k\) is von Neumann regular and \(R\) is not \(\aleph_0\)-compact if \(k\) contains a finitely generated maximal ideal. If \(R\) is the union of a strictly increasing sequence of discrete valuation domains \(V_0\subset V_1\subset \cdots\), such that each \(V_{n+1}\) is finitely generated as a \(V_n\)-module, then \(R\) is slender. A Noetherian ring is \(\aleph_0\)-compact if and only if it is a finite product of local complete rings. In particular, every Artinian ring is \(\aleph_0\)-compact.