On a generalization of semicommutative rings. (Q2479767)

In this paper, all rings have 1. The ring \(R\) is called semicommutative (SC) if for all \(a,b\in R\), \(ab=0\) implies \(aRb=\{0\}\). (Semicommutativity has been studied by various authors under several different names.) The present authors define \(R\) to be weakly semicommutative (WSC) if for all \(a,b\in R\), \(ab=0\) implies \(arb\) is nilpotent for all \(r\in R\). They provide several examples of WSC rings which are not SC, the simplest of which is the ring of upper-triangular \(2\times 2\) matrices over a division ring. They also give several constructions for WSC rings. For example, if \(R\) is SC, both \(R[X]\) and the ring \(R[X;X^{-1}]\) of Laurent polynomials are WSC; and if \(R\) has a nil ideal \(I\) such that \(R/I\) is WSC, then \(R\) is WSC.