Zariski-finite modules (Q5928700)

Let \(R\) be a commutative ring with identity, and let \(M\) be an \(R\)-module. For a submodule \(N\) of \(M\) let \((N:M)= \{r\in R\mid rM\subset N\}\). The submodule \(N\) is called prime if \((N:M)\) is a prime ideal of \(R\) and the \(R/ (N:M)\)-module \(M/N\) is torsion-free. In analogy to the spectrum of a ring one can define the set \(\text{Spec}(M)\) to be the collection of all prime submodules of \(M\). Let \(V(N)\), the variety of \(N\), be the collection of all prime submodules containing \(N\). The collection of all such varieties is denoted by \(\zeta(M)\). It can be shown that \(\zeta(M)\) is a semi-module over the semi-ring \(\zeta(R)\). This paper contains several results on generating sets of \(\zeta (M)\). For instance, if \(R\) is a domain and \(M\) is torsion-free and contains non-zero elements \(x,y\) such that \(Rx\cap Ry=0\), then the cardinality of every generating set of \(\zeta(M)\) has to be at least as large as the cardinality of \(R\).