The length and depth of associative algebras (Q2057577)

Let \(A\) be an associative algebra (not necessarily to be unital) over a field \(K\). An unrefinable chain of length \(t\) of \(A\) is a chain of subalgebras \(A=A_0> A_1>\cdots >A_t=0\), where each \(A_i\) is a maximal \(K\)-subalgebra of \(A_{i-1}\). The length \(\ell(A)\) of \(A\) is the maximal length of an unrefinable chain. If there is no such a chain, or no unrefinable chain of maximal length, we set \(\ell(A)=\infty\). The depth \(\lambda(A)\) of \(A\) is the minimal length of an unrefinable chain of \(A\). If there is no unrefinable chain, we set \(\lambda(A)=\infty\). Obviously, \(\lambda(A)\leq \ell(A)\leq \dim(A)\), where \(\dim(A)\) is the dimension of \(A\). The authors show that \(\lambda(A)<\infty\) if and only if \(\ell(A)<\infty\) if and only if \(\dim(A)<\infty\). This result is meaningful because \(\lambda(A)<\infty\) implies \(\dim(A)<\infty\). Further, when \(A\) is finite dimensional, a formula for \(\ell(A)\) and the bound of \(\lambda(A)\) are established. Also notable relationships between \(\lambda(A)\), \,\(\ell(A)\), and \(\dim(A)\) are provided.