An addendum to the paper: ``Arithmetic functions over rings with zero divisors'' by Ruangsinsap, Laohakosol and P. Udomkavanich (Q968649)

In the cited paper [Bull. Malays. Math. Sci. Soc. (2) 24, No. 1, 81--91 (2001; Zbl 0998.11005)], several results have been proved based on the hypothesis that ``\(R_j\) is a UFR''. As observed by the first author, this hypothesis is void, as is proved as follows (notations as in the cited paper). Lemma 1. If \(R\) is a UFR , then every non-zero element of \(R\) is either a unit or a zero divisor. Pushing slightly forward the method applied in the proof of Lemma 1 they obtain an easy elementary proof of the following characterization of UFR's: Theorem. If \(R\) is a UFR, then either for all irreducible elements \(r, s\in R\) we have \(rs = 0\), or all irreducible elements of \(R\) are associated, and thus every non-zero element of \(R\) is of the form \(ur^n\), where \(u\) is invertible, \(r\) is a fixed irreducible and \(n = 0,1,\dots, k-1\) with a fixed integer \(k\). Moreover, \(r^k = 0\). This is proved here using two simple lemmas.