A torsion graph determined by equivalence classes of torsion elements and associated prime ideals (Q6589638)

Let \(R\) be a commutative ring with unity, \(M\) an \(R\)-module and \(\sim\) equivalence relation on \(M\) defined with: \(x\sim y\) if and only if \(\mathrm{ann}(x)=\mathrm{ann}(y)\). In order to get a better understanding of the module \(M\), in the paper under review the authors introduce and study \textit{the graph of equivalence classes of torsion elements of} \(M\), denoted by \(A_E(M)\). It is defined in the following way: the vertices of \(A_E(M)\) are equivalence classes of elements in \(T(M)\setminus\{0\}\) with respect to \(\sim\), and two distinct classes \([x]\) and \([y]\) are joined by an edge if and only if \(\mathrm{ann}(x)\mathrm{ann}(y)M=0\). They give several general properties of \(A_E(M)\), and the following results in the case when \(M\) is torsion finitely generated module over a Dedekind domain \(R\):\N\begin{itemize}\N\item if \(|V(A_E(M))|\geq 5\), then a vertex of \(A_E(M)\) has degree two if and only if it is an associated prime of \(M\) (i.e.\ a prime ideal of \(R\) that is of the form \(\mathrm{ann}(x)\) for some \(x\in M\));\N\item a formula for the chromatic number of \(A_E(M)\) in terms of the prime factorization of \(\mathrm{ann}(M)\) is obtained, and it is proven that the chromatic number of \(A_E(M)\) is equal to the clique number of \(A_E(M)\).\N\end{itemize}