Commutative rings whose finitely embedded modules have injective dimension \(\approx\) 1 (Q795105)

Auslander's global dimension theorem enables us to look only at projective dimensions of finitely generated or cyclic left R-modules, \(for\) gld(R)\(=\sup \{pd(M)|\) M is a left \(R\)-modul\(e\}\) \(=\sup \{pd(M)| M\) is a finitely generated left \(R\)-modul\(e\}\) \(=\sup \{pd(M)|\) M is a cyclic left R-modul\(e\}\). The concept of left global dimension is ''self-dual''; i.e., it may be also defined in terms of injective dimensions, because \(gld(R)=\sup \{id(M)| \quad M\quad is\quad a\quad left\quad R-module\},\) but there is no theorem dual to the global dimension theorem. Now the dual of the notion of finitely generated (cyclic) is the notion of finitely embedded (cocyclic). Let \(\delta(R)=\sup \{id(M)| \quad M\quad is\quad a\quad finitely\quad embedded\quad left\quad R-module\}.\) Then \(\delta\) (R) is also equal to \(\sup \{id(M)| M\quad is\quad a\quad cocyclic\quad left\quad R-module\}.\) Of course the homological invariant \(\delta\) (R) is \(\leq gld(R)\). For a commutative ring R it is easy to prove that \(\delta(R)=0\) if and only if R is a von Neumann regular ring. In this paper we prove that, for a commutative ring R, \(\delta\) (R)\(\leq 1\) if and only if \(R_ M\) is an almost maximal valuation domain for every maximal ideal M in R and every non-minimal prime ideal of R is contained in a unique maximal ideal. In particular for a semilocal ring R, \(\delta(R)\leq 1\) if and only if R is the direct product of a finite number of almost maximal Bezout domains. The rings with \(\delta\) (R)\(\leq 1\) and minimal spectrum compact are semihereditary Baer rings and have a (von Neumann) regular ring of fractions. We prove that the category of such rings is naturally equivalent to the category of ringed spaces (X,\({\mathcal F})\), where X is a Boolean space (i.e., a totally disconnected compact Hausdorff space) and \({\mathcal F}\) is a sheaf of domains \({\mathcal F}_ x\) with \(\delta({\mathcal F}_ x)\leq 1\) for every \(x\in X\).