Projective covers and minimal sets of generators over local rings (Q2136141)

Let \(R\) be a local ring, and consider the following four classes of right \(R\)-modules: \((a)\) The class \(\mathcal{A}\) of right \(R\)-modules with a projective cover. \((b)\) The class \(\mathcal{B}\) of right \(R\)-modules for which every set of generators contains a minimal set of generators. \((c)\) The class \(\mathcal{C}\) of right \(R\)-modules with a minimal set of generators. \((d)\) The class \(\mathcal{D}\) of right \(R\)-modules \(M_{R}\) for which \(\mathrm{gen}(M_{R}) = \dim_{R/P} (M/MP)\), where \(\mathrm{gen}(M_{R})\) is the cardinal number \(\min\{ |X| | X \text { is a set of generators for } M_{R} \}\). In this paper, the author characterizes and describes the modules in the four classes \(\mathcal{A}\), \(\mathcal{B}\), \(\mathcal{C}\) and \(\mathcal{D}\) by finding interesting relations between them. Section 2 collects notations and basic notions. Section 3 deals with minimal sets of generators, and section 4 deals with modules for which every set of generators contains a minimal set of generators. In section 5, he investigates modules \(M_{R}\) with \(\mathrm{gen}(M_{R}) = \dim(M/PM)\). The paper closes with a sixth section factoring \(R\) modulo a two-sided ideal. Among others, he shows that if \(R\) is a local ring with maximal ideal \(P\) and \(M_{R}\) is a right \(R\)-module, then every set of generators of \(M_{R}\) contains a minimal set of generators if and only if the submodule \(MP\) of \(M_{R}\) is superfluous, equivalently, if and only if for every subset \(X\) of \(M_{R}\), if the indexed family \(\{ x + MP | x \in X \}\) is a basis of the right vector space \(M/MP\) over \(R/P\), then \(X\) is a minimal set of generators for \(M_{R}\). Superfluous epimorphisms turn out to be the module morphisms that ``preserve (minimal) sets of generators''. The case of modules over valuation rings (that is, commutative rings, not necessarily integral domains, for which the lattice of ideals is linearly ordered under inclusion) are studied in more detail. For instance, he proves that a module \(M_{S}\) over a valuation ring \(S\) has a projective cover if and only if there exists a nilpotent ideal \(I\) of \(S\) such that \(M/MI\) is the direct sum of a free \(S/I\)-module and a finitely generated module.