Abelian categories in which linear algebra is possible (Q4336773)

The authors find in this paper a class of abelian categories properly containing the class of all categories \({\mathcal V}ect\)-\(k\) of finite-dimensional right vector spaces over a division ring \(k\) in which all the elementary results of linear algebra over division rings can be proved. The main theorem in Section 2 states that upto equivalence, the only abelian categories which are linear categories are the null category, the category \({\mathcal V}ect\)-\(k\) of finite-dimensional right vector spaces over a division ring \(k\) and the category \(proj\)-\(R\) of all finitely generated projective right \(R\)-modules over a simple right self-injective regular ring \(R\) of type II. Here the third category is equivalent to \({\mathcal V}ect\)-\(k\) for some division ring \(k\) if further \(R\) is directly finite. In the remaining sections only the category \(proj\)-\(R\) is considered where \(R\) is a simple right self-injective regular ring of type II. In Section 4, basis and dimension of an object in \(proj\)-\(R\) are defined and some properties are derived. In Section 6, determinant and Dieudonné's determinant for \(R\) are defined. It is proved that for a simple right self-injective regular ring \(R\) of type II the determinant for \(R\) exists and is unique. In Section 7, properties of the determinant are studied. Finally, in Section 8, Cramer's rule for a system of equations over \(R\) is proved.