On semilocal rings (Q5906237)

A ring \(R\) is called semilocal if \(R/J(R)\) is semisimple Artinian, where \(J(R)\) is the Jacobson radical of \(R\). In this paper, several interesting characterizations of semilocal rings are given. In particular, a ring \(R\) is semilocal if and only if there is a homomorphism from \(R\) to a semisimple Artinian ring \(S\) taking non-units of \(R\) to non-units of \(S\). Thereby a subring \(R\) of a semisimple Artinian ring \(S\) is semilocal if the units of \(R\) consists precisely of the units of \(S\) which lie in \(R\). This proves a conjecture of P. Menal. By applying these characterizations of semilocal rings, it is shown that Artinian modules have semilocal endomorphism rings, and that Artinian modules cancel from direct sums which answers Question 16 of \textit{P. Menal} [in Ring Theory, Proc. Conf., Granada/Spain 1986, Lect. Notes Math. 1328, 187-208 (1988; Zbl 0651.16009)] in the affirmative. Also a recent result of F. Cedó that classical quotient rings with the maximum condition on left and right annihilators are semilocal is introduced.