Divisibility in rings of integer-valued polynomials (Q2075830)

The authors study connections between factorization properties of an integral domain \(R\) and the ring of integer valued polynomials \(\mathrm{Int}(R)\): \(R\) is an FFD (SFFD, Furstenberg) if and only if \(\mathrm{Int}(R)\) satisfies the corresponding property. {Definitions.} Recall that if \(R\) is a commutative integral domain with quotient field \(K\), and \(S\) is a subset of \(R\), then {\em the ring of integer-valued polynomials} of \(R\) on \(S\) (\(\mathrm{Int}(R,S)\)) is defined as the set of polynomials \(p(x)\in K[x]\) such that \(p(S)\subseteq R\). The ring \(\mathrm{Int}(R,R)\) is denoted by \(\mathrm{Int}(R)\). The domain \(R\) is {\em atomic} if each nonzero nonunit of \(R\) is a finite product of atoms (irreducible elements). The {\em ACCP condition }on \(R\) is the ascending chain condition on principal ideals. \(R\) is a {\em BFD }(bounded factorization domain) if the sets of lengths of the factorizations of the nonzero elements in \(R\) are bounded. \(R\) is an {\em idf-domain} (an irreducible-divisor-finite domain) if every nonzero element of \(R\) has only finitely many irreducible divisors up to associates. \(R\) is an {\em FFD} (finite factorization domain) if \(R\) is an atomic idf-domain. \(R\) is an {\em SFFD} (strongly finite factorization domain) if every nonzero element of \(R\) has only finitely many divisors. \(R\) is a {\em Furstenberg} domain, if each nonunit of \(R\) is divisible by an atom. \(R\) is a {\em CKD} (Cohen-Kaplansky) if \(R\) is an atomic domain with only finitely many atoms up to associates. {Further results.} If \(R\) is atomic, then \(\mathrm{Int}(R)\) is not necessarily atomic. However, if \(F\) is an infinite field, and \(R\) is the Grams' monoid ring over \(F\), that is atomic, but it does not satisfy ACCP, then \(\mathrm{Int}(R)=R[x]\) is atomic, but it does not satisfy ACCP. Generally, BFD does not imply FFD for a ring of integer valued polynomials. If \(R\) is an idf-domain, then \(\mathrm{Int}(R)\) is not necessarily an idf-domain (cf. the above equivalence for the FFD property). No ring of integer-valued polynomials is a CKD. Some of the results in this paper are formulated for rings of the form \(\mathrm{Int}(S,R)\). For example, for every subset \(S\) of a domain \(R\), \(\mathrm{Int}(R,S)\) is a BFD if and only if \(R\) is a BFD. This result is a generalization of the theorem that \(\mathrm{Int}(R)\) is a BFD if and only if \(R\) is a BFD, which is due to D. D. Anderson, D. F. Anderson and M. Zafrullah.