arXiv subjects

Nicholas J. Werner

Publications and source records attributed to Nicholas J. Werner.

18 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2026

Some results on null ideals of finite rings

For a finite associative unital ring $R$, the null ideal of $R$ is the collection of polynomials with coefficients from $R$ that send each element of $R$ to zero under evaluation. It was conjectured that the null ideal of $R$ is always a two-sided ideal of its overlying polynomial ring. The conjecture was proved to be false with the construction of a subring of $4 \times 4$ upper triangular matrices over $\mathbb{F}_2$ for which the null ideal is not two-sided. The Jacobson radical of this counterexample ring has nilpotency 4. We prove that if the Jacobson radical of $R$ has nilpotency at most 3, then the null ideal of $R$ is two-sided. By extending the known counterexample ring, for each $n \geq 5$ we present a ring for which the null ideal is not two-sided, and the Jacobson radical has nilpotency $n$.

math.RA↗

arXiv2026

Circular sorting in the alternating group

The symmetric group $S_n$ is generated by transpositions, and problems of sorting permutations using transpositions are well studied. In recent work, Adin, Alon, and Roichman studied the related problem of sorting $n$ points on a circle, and gave a formula for the maximum number of adjacent swaps required. This is equivalent to the number of adjacent transpositions required to transform any permutation into a power of the cyclic permutation $(1,2,\ldots, n)$. The focus of this work is an analogous question in the alternating group $A_n$, which is generated by $3$-cycles. That is, using 3-cycles instead of transpositions, what is the maximum number of steps required to transform an even permutation into a power of $(1,2,\ldots, n)$ in the alternating group? We determine this number exactly for even $n$ and $n \equiv 1 \pmod{4}$. For $n \equiv 3 \pmod{4}$, we show that the sorting number can take one of two possible values and give explicit constructions demonstrating that the larger value occurs infinitely often.

math.CO↗

arXiv2026

A classification of Prufer domains of integer-valued polynomials on algebras

Let $D$ be an integrally closed domain with quotient field $K$ and $A$ a torsion-free $D$-algebra that is finitely generated as a $D$-module and such that $A\cap K=D$. We give a complete classification of those $D$ and $A$ for which the ring $\text{Int}_K(A)=\{f\in K[X] \mid f(A)\subseteq A\}$ is a Prüfer domain. If $D$ is a semiprimitive domain, then we prove that $\text{Int}_K(A)$ is Prüfer if and only if $A$ is commutative and isomorphic to a finite direct product of almost Dedekind domains with finite residue fields, each of them satisfying a double-boundedness condition on its ramification indices and residue field degrees.

math.RA↗

arXiv2026

Covering rings by proper ideals

A cover by left ideals of an associative (not necessarily commutative or unital) ring $R$ is a collection of proper left ideals whose set-theoretic union equals $R$. If such a cover exists, then $η_\ell(R)$ is the cardinality of a minimal cover, and $R$ is $η_\ell$-elementary if $η_\ell(R)<η_\ell(R/I)$ for every nonzero two-sided ideal $I$ of $R$. We classify all $η_\ell$-elementary rings, and determine their covering numbers. Covers by right or two-sided ideals are also studied. This completely characterizes rings admitting finite covers by ideals. Our results generalize to finite covers of modules by submodules, and we determine all possible covering numbers.

math.RA↗

arXiv2025

Nontriviality of rings of integral-valued polynomials

Let $S$ be a subset of $\overline{\mathbb Z}$, the ring of all algebraic integers. A polynomial $f \in \mathbb Q[X]$ is said to be integral-valued on $S$ if $f(s) \in \overline{\mathbb Z}$ for all $s \in S$. The set $\text{Int}_{\mathbb Q}(S,\overline{\mathbb Z})$ of all integral-valued polynomials on $S$ forms a subring of $\mathbb Q[X]$ containing $\mathbb Z[X]$. We say that $\text{Int}_{\mathbb Q}(S,\overline{\mathbb Z})$ is trivial if $\text{Int}_{\mathbb Q}(S,\overline{\mathbb Z}) = \mathbb Z[X]$, and nontrivial otherwise. We give a collection of necessary and sufficient conditions on $S$ in order $\text{Int}_{\mathbb Q}(S,\overline{\mathbb Z})$ to be nontrivial. Our characterizations involve, variously, topological conditions on $S$ with respect to fixed extensions of the $p$-adic valuations to $\overline{\mathbb Q}$; pseudo-monotone sequences contained in $S$; ramification indices and residue field degrees; and the polynomial closure of $S$ in $\overline{\mathbb Z}$.

math.NT↗

arXiv2025

Integer-valued polynomials on subsets of quaternion algebras

Let $R$ be either the ring of Lipschitz quaternions, or the ring of Hurwitz quaternions. Then, $R$ is a subring of the division ring $\mathbb{D}$ of rational quaternions. For $S \subseteq R$, we study the collection $\rm{Int}(S,R) = \{f \in \mathbb{D}[x] \mid f(S) \subseteq R\}$ of polynomials that are integer-valued on $S$. The set $\rm{Int}(S,R)$ is always a left $R$-submodule of $\mathbb{D}[x]$, but need not be a subring of $\mathbb{D}[x]$. We say that $S$ is a ringset of $R$ if $\rm{Int}(S,R)$ is a subring of $\mathbb{D}[x]$. In this paper, we give a complete classification of the finite subsets of $R$ that are ringsets.

math.RA↗

arXiv2025

Counting core sets in matrix rings over finite fields

Let $R$ be a commutative ring and $M_n(R)$ be the ring of $n \times n$ matrices with entries from $R$. For each $S \subseteq M_n(R)$, we consider its (generalized) null ideal $N(S)$, which is the set of all polynomials $f$ with coefficients from $M_n(R)$ with the property that $f(A) = 0$ for all $A \in S$. The set $S$ is said to be core if $N(S)$ is a two-sided ideal of $M_n(R)[x]$. It is not known how common core sets are among all subsets of $M_n(R)$. We study this problem for $2 \times 2$ matrices over $\mathbb{F}_q$, where $\mathbb{F}_q$ is the finite field with $q$ elements. We provide exact counts for the number of core subsets of each similarity class of $M_2(\mathbb{F}_q)$. While not every subset of $M_2(\mathbb{F}_q)$ is core, we prove that as $q \to \infty$, the probability that a subset of $M_2(\mathbb{F}_q)$ is core approaches 1. Thus, asymptotically in~$q$, almost all subsets of $M_2(\mathbb{F}_q)$ are core.

math.RA↗

arXiv2024

Exponential and weakly exponential subgroups of finite groups

Sabatini (2024) defined a subgroup $H$ of $G$ to be an exponential subgroup if $x^{|G:H|} \in H$ for all $x \in G$. Exponential subgroups are a generalization of normal (and subnormal) subgroups: all subnormal subgroups are exponential, but not conversely. Sabatini proved that all subgroups of a finite group $G$ are exponential if and only if $G$ is nilpotent. The purpose of this paper is to explore what the analogues of a simple group and a solvable group should be in relation to exponential subgroups. We say that an exponential subgroup $H$ of $G$ is exp-trivial if either $H = G$ or the exponent of $G$, ${\rm exp}(G)$, divides $|G:H|$, and we say that a group $G$ is exp-simple if all exponential subgroups of $G$ are exp-trivial. We classify finite exp-simple groups by proving $G$ is exp-simple if and only if ${\rm exp}(G) = {\rm exp}(G/N)$ for all proper normal subgroups $N$ of $G$, and we illustrate how the class of exp-simple groups differs from the class of simple groups. Furthermore, in an attempt to overcome the obstacle that prevents all subgroups of a generic solvable group from being exponential, we say that a subgroup $H$ of $G$ is weakly exponential if, for all $x \in G$, there exists $g \in G$ such that $x^{|G:H|} \in H^g$. If all subgroups of $G$ are weakly exponential, then $G$ is wexp-solvable. We prove that all solvable groups are wexp-solvable and almost all symmetric and alternating groups are not wexp-solvable. Finally, we completely classify the groups ${\rm PSL}(2,q)$ that are wexp-solvable. We show that if $π(n)$ denotes the number of primes less than $n$ and $w(n)$ denotes the number of primes $p$ less than $n$ such that ${\rm PSL}(2,p)$ is wexp-solvable, then $\lim_{n \to \infty} \frac{w(n)}{π(n)} = \frac{1}{4}.$

math.GR↗

arXiv2024

A Note on Finite Nilpotent Groups

It is well known that if $G$ is a group and $H$ is a normal subgroup of $G$ of finite index $k$, then $x^k \in H$ for every $x \in G$. We examine finite groups $G$ with the property that $x^k \in H$ for every subgroup $H$ of $G$, where $k$ is the index of $H$ in $G$. We prove that a finite group $G$ satisfies this property if and only if $G$ is nilpotent.

math.GR↗

arXiv2022

Null ideals of sets of $3 \times 3$ similar matrices with irreducible characteristic polynomial

Let $F$ be a field and $M_n(F)$ the ring of $n \times n$ matrices over $F$. Given a subset $S$ of $M_n(F)$, the null ideal of $S$ is the set of all polynomials $f$ with coefficients from $M_n(F)$ such that $f(A) = 0$ for all $A \in S$. We say that $S$ is core if the null ideal of $S$ is a two-sided ideal of the polynomial ring $M_n(F)[x]$. We study sufficient conditions under which $S$ is core in the case where $S$ consists of $3 \times 3$ matrices, all of which share the same irreducible characteristic polynomial. In particular, we show that if $F$ is finite with $q$ elements and $|S| \geqslant q^3-q^2+1$, then $S$ is core. As a byproduct of our work, we obtain some results on block Vandermonde matrices, invertible matrix commutators, and graphs defined via an invertible difference relation.

math.RA↗

arXiv2022

The covering numbers of rings

A cover of an associative (not necessarily commutative nor unital) ring $R$ is a collection of proper subrings of $R$ whose set-theoretic union equals $R$. If such a cover exists, then the covering number $σ(R)$ of $R$ is the cardinality of a minimal cover, and a ring $R$ is called $σ$-elementary if $σ(R) < σ(R/I)$ for every nonzero two-sided ideal $I$ of $R$. If $R$ is a ring with unity, then we define the unital covering number $σ_u(R)$ to be the size of a minimal cover of $R$ by subrings that contain $1_R$ (if such a cover exists), and $R$ is $σ_u$-elementary if $σ_u(R) < σ_u(R/I)$ for every nonzero two-sided ideal of $R$. In this paper, we classify all $σ$-elementary unital rings and determine their covering numbers. Building on this classification, we are further able to classify all $σ_u$-elementary rings and prove $σ_u(R) = σ(R)$ for every $σ_u$-elementary ring $R$. We also prove that, if $R$ is a ring without unity with a finite cover, then there exists a unital ring $R'$ such that $σ(R) = σ_u(R')$, which in turn provides a complete list of all integers that are the covering number of a ring. Moreover, if \[\mathscr{E}(N) := \{m : m \le N, σ(R) = m \text{ for some ring } R\},\] then we show that $|\mathscr{E}(N)| = Θ(N/\log(N))$, which proves that almost all integers are not covering numbers of a ring.

math.RA↗

arXiv2022

A new infinite family of $σ$-elementary rings

math.RA↗

arXiv2021

Fuchs' problem for 2-groups

Nearly $60$ years ago, László Fuchs posed the problem of determining which groups can be realized as the group of units of a commutative ring. To date, the question remains open, although significant progress has been made. Along this line, one could also ask the more general question as to which finite groups can be realized as the group of units of a finite ring. In this paper, we consider the question of which $2$-groups are realizable as unit groups of finite rings, a necessary step toward determining which nilpotent groups are realizable. We prove that all $2$-groups of exponent $4$ and exponent $2$ are realizable in characteristic $2$, and we prove that many $2$-groups with exponent $4$ and nilpotency class $3$ are realizable in characteristic $2$. On the other hand, we provide an example of a $2$-group with exponent $4$ and nilpotency class $4$ that is not realizable in characteristic $2$. Moreover, while some groups of exponent greater than $4$ are realizable as unit groups of rings, we prove that any $2$-group with a self-centralizing element of order $8$ or greater is never realizable in characteristic $2^m$, and consequently any indecomposable, nonabelian group with a self-centralizing element of order $8$ or greater cannot be the group of units of a finite ring.

math.RA↗

arXiv2020

Covering numbers of commutative rings

A cover of a unital, associative (not necessarily commutative) ring $R$ is a collection of proper subrings of $R$ whose set-theoretic union equals $R$. If such a cover exists, then the covering number $σ(R)$ of $R$ is the cardinality of a minimal cover, and a ring $R$ is called $σ$-elementary if $σ(R) < σ(R/I)$ for every nonzero two-sided ideal $I$ of $R$. In this paper, we show that if $R$ has a finite covering number, then the calculation of $σ(R)$ can be reduced to the case where $R$ is a finite ring of characteristic $p$ and the Jacobson radical $J$ of $R$ has nilpotency 2. Our main result is that if $R$ has a finite covering number and $R/J$ is commutative (even if $R$ itself is not), then either $σ(R)=σ(R/J)$, or $σ(R)=p^d+1$ for some $d \geqslant 1$. As a byproduct, we classify all commutative $σ$-elementary rings with a finite covering number and characterize the integers that occur as the covering number of a commutative ring.

math.RA↗

arXiv2020

On the number of reachable pairs in a digraph

A pair $(u, v)$ of (not necessarily distinct) vertices in a directed graph $D$ is called a reachable pair if there exists a directed path from $u$ to $v$. We define the weight of $D$ to be the number of reachable pairs of $D$, which equals the sum of the number of vertices in $D$ and the number of directed edges in the transitive closure of $D$. In this paper, we study the set $W(n)$ of possible weights of directed graphs on $n$ labeled vertices. We prove that $W(n)$ can be determined recursively and describe the integers in the set. Moreover, if $b(n) \geqslant n$ is the least integer for which there is no digraph on $n$ vertices with exactly $b(n)+1$ reachable pairs, we determine $b(n)$ exactly through a simple recursive formula and find an explicit function $g(n)$ such that $|b(n)-g(n)| < 2n$ for all $n \geqslant 3$. Using these results, we are able to approximate $|W(n)|$ -- which is quadratic in $n$ -- with an explicit function that is within $30n$ of $|W(n)|$ for all $n \geqslant 3$, thus answering a question of Rao. Since the weight of a directed graph on $n$ vertices corresponds to the number of elements in a preorder on an $n$ element set and the number of containments among the minimal open sets of a topology on an $n$ point space, our theorems are applicable to preorders and topologies.

math.CO↗

arXiv2017

Decomposition of integer-valued polynomial algebras

Let $D$ be a commutative domain with field of fractions $K$, let $A$ be a torsion-free $D$-algebra, and let $B$ be the extension of $A$ to a $K$-algebra. The set of integer-valued polynomials on $A$ is ${\rm Int}(A) = \{f \in B[X] \mid f(A) \subseteq A\}$, and the intersection of ${\rm Int}(A)$ with $K[X]$ is ${\rm Int}_K(A)$, which is a commutative subring of $K[X]$. The set ${\rm Int}(A)$ may or may not be a ring, but it always has the structure of a left ${\rm Int}_K(A)$-module. A $D$-algebra $A$ which is free as a $D$-module and of finite rank is called ${\rm Int}_K$-decomposable if a $D$-module basis for $A$ is also an ${\rm Int}_K(A)$-module basis for ${\rm Int}(A)$; in other words, if ${\rm Int}(A)$ can be generated by ${\rm Int}_K(A)$ and $A$. A classification of such algebras has been given when $D$ is a Dedekind domain with finite residue rings. In the present article, we modify the definition of ${\rm Int}_K$-decomposable so that it can be applied to $D$-algebras that are not necessarily free by defining $A$ to be ${\rm Int}_K$-decomposable when ${\rm Int}(A) \cong {\rm Int}_K(A) \otimes_D A$. We then provide multiple characterizations of such algebras in the case where $D$ is a discrete valuation ring or a Dedekind domain with finite residue rings. In particular, if $D$ is the ring of integers of a number field $K$, we show that ${\rm Int}_K$-decomposable algebras $A$ correspond to maximal $D$-orders in a separable $K$-algebra $B$, whose simple components have as center the same finite unramified Galois extension $F$ of $K$ and are unramified at each finite place of $F$. Finally, when both $D$ and $A$ are rings of integers in number fields, we show that ${\rm Int}_K$-decomposable algebras correspond to unramified Galois extensions of $K$.

math.RA↗

arXiv2016

Properly Integral Polynomials over the Ring of Integer-valued Polynomials on a Matrix Ring

Let $D$ be a domain with fraction field $K$, and let $M_n(D)$ be the ring of $n \times n$ matrices with entries in $D$. The ring of integer-valued polynomials on the matrix ring $M_n(D)$, denoted ${\rm Int}_K(M_n(D))$, consists of those polynomials in $K[x]$ that map matrices in $M_n(D)$ back to $M_n(D)$ under evaluation. It has been known for some time that ${\rm Int}_{\mathbb{Q}}(M_n(\mathbb{Z}))$ is not integrally closed. However, it was only recently that an example of a polynomial in the integral closure of ${\rm Int}_{\mathbb{Q}}(M_n(\mathbb{Z}))$ but not in the ring itself appeared in the literature, and the published example is specific to the case $n=2$. In this paper, we give a construction that produces polynomials that are integral over ${\rm Int}_K(M_n(D))$ but are not in the ring itself, where $D$ is a Dedekind domain with finite residue fields and $n \geq 2$ is arbitrary. We also show how our general example is related to $P$-sequences for ${\rm Int}_K(M_n(D))$ and its integral closure in the case where $D$ is a discrete valuation ring.

math.RA↗

arXiv2014

Integral closure of rings of integer-valued polynomials on algebras

Let $D$ be an integrally closed domain with quotient field $K$. Let $A$ be a torsion-free $D$-algebra that is finitely generated as a $D$-module. For every $a$ in $A$ we consider its minimal polynomial $μ_a(X)\in D[X]$, i.e. the monic polynomial of least degree such that $μ_a(a)=0$. The ring ${\rm Int}_K(A)$ consists of polynomials in $K[X]$ that send elements of $A$ back to $A$ under evaluation. If $D$ has finite residue rings, we show that the integral closure of ${\rm Int}_K(A)$ is the ring of polynomials in $K[X]$ which map the roots in an algebraic closure of $K$ of all the $μ_a(X)$, $a\in A$, into elements that are integral over $D$. The result is obtained by identifying $A$ with a $D$-subalgebra of the matrix algebra $M_n(K)$ for some $n$ and then considering polynomials which map a matrix to a matrix integral over $D$. We also obtain information about polynomially dense subsets of these rings of polynomials.

math.AC↗