Graduate Texts in Mathematics

Editorial Board
S. Axler F.W. Gehring K . A . Ribet
 BOOKS OF RELATED INTEREST BY SERGE L A N G

Math Talks for Undergraduates

1999, I S B N 0-387-98749-5

Linear Algebra, Third Edition

1987, I S B N 0-387-96412-6

Undergraduate Algebra, Second Edition

1990, I S B N 0-387-97279-X

Undergraduate Analysis, Second Edition

1997, I S B N 0-387-94841-4

Complex Analysis, Third Edition

1993, I S B N 0-387-97886

Real and Functional Analysis, Third Edition

1993, I S B N 0-387-94001-4

Algebraic Number Theory, Second Edition

1994, I S B N 0-387-94225-4

OTHER BOOKS BY L A N G PUBLISHED BY

SPRINGER-VERLAG

Introduction to Arakelov Theory • Riemann-Roch Algebra (with William Fulton) •

Complex Multiplication • Introduction to Modular Forms • Modular Units
(with Daniel Kubert) • Fundamentals of Diophantine Geometry • Elliptic
Functions • Number Theory III • Survey of Diophantine Geometry • Fundamentals
of Differential Geometry • Cyclotomic Fields I and II • SL (R) • Abelian Varieties •
2

Introduction to Algebraic and Abelian Functions • Introduction to Diophantine

Approximations • Elliptic Curves: Diophantine Analysis • Introduction to Linear
Algebra • Calculus of Several Variables • First Course in Calculus • Basic
Mathematics • Geometry: A High School Course (with Gene Murrow) • Math!
Encounters with High School Students • The Beauty of Doing Mathematics • THE
FILE • C H A L L E N G E S
Serge Lang

Algebra
Revised Third Edition

Springer
Serge Lang
Department of Mathematics
Yale University
New Haven, CT 96520
USA

Editorial Board
S. Axler
Mathematics Department F.W. Gehring K.A. Ribet
San Francisco State Mathematics Department Mathematics Department
University East Hall University of California,
San Francisco, CA 94132 University of Michigan Berkeley
USA Ann Arbor, MI 48109 Berkeley, CA 94720-3840
[email protected] USA USA
[email protected]. [email protected]
umich.edu

Mathematics Subject Classification (2000): 13-01, 15-01, 16-01, 20-01

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Algebra /Serge Lang.—Rev. 3rd ed.
p. cm.—(Graduate texts in mathematics; 211)
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-1-4612-6551-1 ISBN 978-1-4613-0041-0 (eBook)
DOI 10.1007/978-1-4613-0041-0
1. Algebra. I. Title. II. Series.
QA154.3.L3 2002

512—dc21 2001054916

ISBN 978-1-4612-6551-1

Printed on acid-free paper.

This title was previously published by Addison-Wesley, Reading, MA 1993.

© 2002 Springer Science+Business Media New York
Originally published by Springer Science+Business Media LLC in 2002
Softcover reprint of the hardcover 3rd edition 2002
A l l rights reserved. This work may not be translated or copied in whole or in part without
the written permission of the publisher (Springer Science+Business Media, LLC), except for
brief excerpts in connection with reviews or scholarly analysis. Use in connection with any
form of information storage and retrieval, electronic adaptation, computer software, or by
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The use of general descriptive names, trade names, trademarks, etc., in this publication, even if the
former are not especially identified, is not to be taken as a sign that such names, as understood by
the Trade Marks and Merchandise Marks Act, may accordingly be used freely by anyone.

9 8 (corrected printing 2005)

springer.com
FOREWORD

The present book is meant as a basic text for a one-year course in algebra ,
at the graduate level .

A perspective on algebra

As I see it, the graduate course in algebra must primarily prepare students
to handle the algebra which they will meet in all of mathematics: topology,
partial differential equations, differential geometry , algebraic geometry, analysis,
and representation theory, not to speak of algebra itself and algebraic number
theory with all its ramifications . Hence I have inserted throughout references to
papers and book s which have appeared during the last decades , to indicate some
of the directions in which the algebraic foundations provided by this book are
used ; I have accompanied these references with some motivating comments, to
explain how the topics of the present book fit into the mathematics that is to
come subsequently in various fields; and I have also mentioned some unsolved
problems of mathematics in algebra and number theory . The abc conjecture is
perhaps the most spectacular of these.
Often when such comments and examples occur out of the logical order,
especially with examples from other branches of mathematics , of necessity some
terms may not be defined , or may be defined only later in the book . I have tried
to help the reader not only by making cross-references within the book, but also
by referring to other books or papers which I mention explicitly .
I have also added a number of exercises . On the whole, I have tried to make
the exercises complement the examples, and to give them aesthetic appeal. I
have tried to use the exercises also to drive readers toward variations and appli-
cations of the main text , as well as toward working out special cases, and as
openings toward applications beyond this book .

Organization

Unfortunately, a book must be projected in a totally ordered way on the page

axis, but that's not the way mathematics "is" , so readers have to make choices
how to reset certain topics in parallel for themselves, rather than in succession .

v
vi FOREWORD

I have inserted cross-references to help them do this , but different people will
make different choices at different times depending on different circumstances .
The book splits naturally into several parts. The first part introduces the basic
notions of algebra. After these basic notions, the book splits in two major
directions: the direction of algebraic equations including the Galois theory in
Part II; and the direction of linear and multilinear algebra in Parts III and IV.
There is some sporadic feedback between them , but their unification takes place
at the next level of mathematics, which is suggested, for instance, in §15 of
Chapter VI. Indeed, the study of algebraic extensions of the rationals can be
carried out from two points of view which are complementary and interrelated:
representing the Galois group of the algebraic closure in groups of matrices (the
linear approach), and giving an explicit determination of the irrationalities gen-
erating algebraic extensions (the equations approach) . At the moment, repre-
sentations in GL2 are at the center of attention from various quarters, and readers
will see GL 2 appear several times throughout the book . For instance, I have
found it appropriate to add a section describing all irreducible characters of
GL 2(F) when F is a finite field. Ultimately, GL 2 will appear as the simplest but
typical case of groups of Lie types, occurring both in a differential context and
over finite fields or more general arithmetic rings for arithmetic applications .
After almost a decade since the second edition, I find that the basic topics
of algebra have become stable, with one exception . I have added two sections
on elimination theory, complementing the existing section on the resultant.
Algebraic geometry having progressed in many ways, it is now sometimes return-
ing to older and harder problems, such as searching for the effective construction
of polynomials vanishing on certain algebraic sets, and the older elimination
procedures of last century serve as an introduction to those problems .
Except for this addition, the main topics of the book are unchanged from the
second edition, but I have tried to improve the book in several ways.
First, some topics have been reordered . I was informed by readers and review-
ers of the tension existing between having a textbook usable for relatively inex-
perienced students, and a reference book where results could easily be found in
a systematic arrangement. I have tried to reduce this tension by moving all the
homological algebra to a fourth part, and by integrating the commutative algebra
with the chapter on algebraic sets and elimination theory, thus giving an intro-
duction to different points of view leading toward algebraic geometry.

The book as a text and a reference

In teaching the course, one might wish to push into the study of algebraic
equations through Part II, or one may choose to go first into the linear algebra
of Parts III and IV. One semester could be devoted to each, for instance. The
chapters have been so written as to allow maximal flexibility in this respect, and
I have frequently committed the crime of lese-Bourbaki by repeating short argu-
ments or definitions to make certain sections or chapters logically independent
of each other.
 FOREWORD vii

Grant ing the material which under no circumstances can be omitted from a
basic course, there exist several options for leadin g the course in various direc-
tions. It is impossible to treat all of them with the same degree of thoroughness.
The prec ise point at which one is willing to stop in any given direction will
depend on time , place , and mood . However , any book with the aims of the
present one must include a choice of topic s, pushin g ahead-in deeper waters ,
while stopping short of full involvement.
There can be no universal agreement on these matter s, not even between the
author and himself. Thu s the concrete deci sions as to what to include and what
not to include are finally taken on ground s of general coherence and aesthetic
balance . Anyone teaching the course will want to impre ss their own personality
on the material, and may push certain topics with more vigor than I have, at the
expense of others . Nothing in the present book is meant to inhibit this.
Unfortunately, the goal to present a fairly comprehensive per spective on
algebra required a substantial increa se in size from the first to the second edition ,
and a moderate increase in this third edition . The se increases require some
decisions as to what to omit in a given course.
Many shortcuts can be taken in the presentation of the topics, which
admits many variations. For insta nce, one can proceed into field theory and
Galois theory immediately after giving the basic definit ions for groups, rings,
fields, polynomials in one variable, and vector spaces. Since the Galois theory
gives very quickly an impression of depth, this is very satisfactory in many
respects.
It is appropriate here to recall my or iginal indebtedness to Artin, who first
taught me algebra. The treatment of the basics of Galois theory is much
influenced by the pre sentation in his own monograph.

Audience and background

As I already stated in the forewords of previous edit ions, the present book
is meant for the graduate level, and I expect most of tho se coming to it to have
had suitable exposure to some algebra in an undergraduate course, or to have
appropriate mathematical maturity. I expect students taking a graduate course
to have had some exposure to vector space s, linear maps, matrices, and they
will no doubt have seen polynomials at the very lea st in calculus courses .
My books Undergraduate Algebra and Linear Algebra provide more than
enough background for a graduate course . Such elementary texts bring out in
parallel the two basic aspects of algebra , and are organized differently from the
present book , where both aspect s are deepened. Of course, some aspects of the
linear algebra in Part III of the present book are more "elementary" than some
aspects of Part II, which deal s with Galoi s theory and the theory of polynomial
equations in several variables. Becau se Part II has gone deeper into the study
of algebraic equations, of nece ssity the parallel linear algebra occurs only later
in the total ordering of the book . Readers should view both part s as running
simultaneously .
viii FOREWORD

Unfortunately, the amount of algebra which one should ideall y absorb during
this first year in order to have a proper background (irrespective of the subject
in which one eventually specializes) exceeds the amount which can be covered
physically by a lecturer during a one-year course. Hence more material must be
included than can actually be handled in class. I find it essential to bring this
material to the attention of graduate students.
I hope that the various additions and changes make the book easier to use as
a text. By these additions, I have tried to expand the general mathematical
perspective of the reader, insofar as algebra relates to other parts of mathematics.

Acknowledgements

I am indebted to many people who have contributed comments and criticisms

for the previous editions, but especially to Daniel Bump, Steven Krantz, and
Diane Meuser, who provided extensive comments as editorial reviewers for
Addison-Wesley . I found their comments very stimulating and valuable in pre-
paring this third edition. I am much indebted to Barbara Holland for obtaining
these reviews when she was editor. I am also indebted to Karl Matsumoto who
supervised production under very trying circumstances. I thank the many peo-
ple who have made suggestions and corrections, especially George Bergman
and students in his class, Chee-Whye Chin, Ki-Bong Nam, David Wasserman,
Randy Scott, Thomas Shiple, Paul Vojta, Bjorn Poonen and his class, in partic-
ular Michael Manapat.

For the 2002 and beyond Springer printings

From now on, Algebra appears with Springer-Verlag, like the rest of my
books. With this change, I considered the possibility of a new edition, but de-
cided against it. I view the book as very stable . The only addition which I
would make , if starting from scratch, would be some of the algebraic properties
of SL n and GL n (over R or C), beyond the proof of simplicity in Chapter XIII.
As things stood, I just inserted some exercises concerning some aspects which
everybody should know . The material actually is now inserted in a new edition
of Undergraduate Algebra, where it properly belongs. The algebra appears as a
supporting tool for doing analysis on Lie groups, cf. for instance Jorgenson/
Lang Spherical Inversion on SLn(R), Springer Verlag 2001.
I thank specifically Tom von Foerster, Ina Lindemann and Mark Spencer
for their editorial support at Springer, as well as Terry Kornak and Brian
Howe who have taken care of production.
Serge Lang
New Haven 2004
Logical Prerequisites

We assume that the reader is familiar with sets, and with the symbols n, U,
~, C, E. If A , B are sets , we use the symbol A C B to mean that A is contained
in B but may be equal to B . Similarly for A ~ B .
If f : A -> B is a mapping of one set into another, we write

X 1---+ f( x)

to denote the effect of f on an element x of A. We distinguish between the

arrows -> and 1---+. We denote by f(A) the set of all elementsf(x), with x E A.
Let f : A -> B be a mapping (also called a map). We say that f is injective
if x # y implies f(x) # f(y) . We say f is surjective if given b e B there exists
a E A such that f(a) = b. We say that f is bijective if it is both surjective and
injective .
A subset A of a set B is said to be proper if A # B.
Let f : A -> B be a map, and A' a subset of A. The restriction of f to A' is
a map of A' into B denoted by fIA '.
If f : A -> Band 9 : B -> C are maps, then we have a composite map 9 0 f
such that (g 0 f)(x) = g(f(x» for all x E A.
Letf: A -> B be a map, and B' a subset of B. By f- 1(B') we mean the subset
of A consisting of all x E A such that f(x) E B'. We call it the inverse image of
B'. We call f(A) the image of f.
A diagram

is said to be commutative if g o f = h. Similarly, a diagram

A~B

•j j.
C---->D
'"
ix
X LOGICAL PREREQUISITES

is sa id to be commutative if 9 0 f = lj; 0 sp , We deal so metimes with more

complicated diagrams, co nsisting of a rr ows between va rio us objects. Such
d iagram s are ca lled commutati ve if, whenever it is poss ible to go from one
object to another by means of two sequences of arrow s, say
II A h I . -I A
A 1~ 2~ " '~n

and
91
A l~ B 92 9 m -1 B A
2 ~ " ' ~ m= n'

then
I n-l 0 • •• 0 II = 9 m- 1 0 • •• °9b

in other words, the composite maps are equal. Most of our diagrams are
composed of triangles or squares as above, and to verify that a diagram con-
sisting of triangles or squares is commutative, it suffices to verify that each
triangle and square in it is commutative.
We assume that the reader is acquainted with the integers and rational
numbers, denoted respectively by Z and Q. For many of our examples, we also
assume that the reader knows the real and complex numbers, denoted by R
and C.
Let A and I be two sets . By a famil y of elements of A, indexed by I, one
means a map f: I-A. Thus for each i E I we are given an element f (i) E A .
Alth ough a famil y does not differ from a map, we think of it as determining a
collection of objects from A, and write it often as

or

writing a, instead of f(i) . We call I the indexing set.

We assume that the reader knows what an equivalence relation is. Let A
be a set with an equivalence relation , let E be an equ ivalence class of elements
of A . We sometimes try to define a map of the equivalence classes into some
set B. To define such a map f on the class E, we sometimes first give its value
on an element x E E (called a representative of E), and then show that it is
independent of the choice of representative x E E. In that case we say that f
is well defined .
We have products of sets, say finite products A x B, or A I X .. . x An' and
products of families of sets .
We shall use Zorn's lemma, which we describe in Appendix 2.
We let # (S) denote the number of elements of a set S, also called the
cardinality of S. The notation is usually employed when S is finite. We also
write # (S) = card (S).
CONTENTS

Part One The Basic Objects of Algebra

Chapter I Groups 3
1. Monoids 3
2. Groups 7
3. Normal subgroups 13
4. Cyclic groups 23
5. Operations of a group on a set 25
6. Sylow subgroups 33
7. Direct sums and free abelian groups 36
8. Finitely generated abelian groups 42
9. The dual group 46
10. Inverse limit and completion 49
11. Categories and functors 53
12. Free groups 66

Chapter II Rings 83
I . Rings and homomorphisms 83
2. Commutative rings 92
3. Polynomials and group rings 97
4. Localization 107
5. Principal and factorial rings 111

Chapter III Modules 117

1. Basic definitions 117
2. The group of homomorphisms 122
3. Direct products and sums of modules 127
4. Free modules 135
5. Vector spaces 139
6. The dual space and dual module 142
7. Modules over principal rings 146
8. Euler-Poincare maps 155
9. The snake lemma 157
10. Direct and inverse limits 159

xi
xii CONTENTS

Chapter IV Polynomials 173

1. Basic properties for polynomials in one variable 173
2. Polynomials over a factorial ring 180
3. Criteria for irreducibility 183
4. Hilbert' s theorem 186
5. Partial fractions 187
6. Symmetric polynomials 190
7. Mason-Stothers theorem and the abc conjecture 194
8. The resultant 199
9. Power series 205

Part Two Algebraic Equations

Chapter V Algebraic Extensions 223

1. Finite and algebraic extensions 225
2. Algebraic closure 229
3. Splitting fields and normal extensions 236
4 . Separable extensions 239
5. Finite fields 244
6. Inseparable extensions 247

Chapter VI Galois Theory 261

1. Galois extensions 261
2. Examples and applications 269
3. Roots of unity 276
4. Linear independence of characters 282
5. The norm and trace 284
6. Cyclic extensions 288
7. Solvable and radical extensions 291
8. Abelian Kummer theory 293
9. The equation X" - a = 0 297
10. Galois cohomology 302
11. Non-abelian Kummer extensions 304
12. Algebraic independence of homomorphisms 308
13. The normal basis theorem 312
14. Infinite Galois extensions 313
15. The modular connection 315

Chapter VII Extensions of Rings 333

1. Integral ring extensions 333
2. Integral Galois extensions 340
3. Extension of homomorphisms 346
 CONTENTS xiii

Chapter VIII Transcendental Extensions 355

I. Transcendence bases 355
2. Noether normalization theorem 357
3. Linearly disjoint extensions 360
4 . Separable and regular extensions 363
5. Derivations 368

Chapter IX Algebraic Spaces 377

I. Hilbert' s Nullstellensatz 378
2. Algebraic sets, spaces and varieties 381
3. Projections and elim ination 388
4. Resultant systems 401
5. Spec of a ring 405

Chapter X Noetherian Rings and Modules 413

I . Basic criteria 413
2. Associated prime s 416
3. Primary decomposition 421
4. Nakayama 's lemma 424
5. Filtered and graded modules 426
6. The Hilbert polynomial 431
7. Indecomposable module s 439

Chapter XI Real Fields 449

I . Ordered fields 449
2. Real fields 451
3. Real zeros and homomorphisms 457

Chapter XII Absolute Values 465

I. Definitions , dependence , and independence 465
2. Completions 468
3. Finite exten sion s 476
4. Valuations 480
5. Completions and valuations 486
6. Discrete valuations 487
7. Zero s of polynomials in complete fields 491

Part Three Linear Algebra and Representations

Chapter XIII Matrices and Linear Maps 503

1. Matrices 503
2. The rank of a matrix 506
xiv CONTENTS

3. Matrices and linear maps 507

4. Determinants 511
5. Duality 522
6. Matrices and bilinear forms 527
7. Sesquilinear duality 531
8. The simplicity of SL 2(F)/± I 536
9. The group SLn(F), n 2: 3 540

Chapter XIV Representation of One Endomorphism 553

1. Representations 553
2. Decomposition over one endomorphism 556
3. The characteristic polynomial 561

Chapter XV Structure of Bilinear Forms 571

1. Preliminaries, orthogonal sums 571
2. Quadratic maps 574
3. Symmetric forms, orthogonal bases 575
4. Symmetric forms over ordered fields 577
5. Hermitian forms 579
6. The spectral theorem (hermitian case) 581
7. The spectral theorem (symmetric case) 584
8. Alternating forms 586
9. The Pfaffian 588
10. Witt's theorem 589
11. The Witt group 594

Chapter XVI The Tensor Product 601

1. Tensor product 601
2. Basic properties 607
3. Flat modules 612
4. Extension of the base 623
5. Some functorial isomorphisms 625
6. Tensor product of algebras 629
7. The tensor algebra of a module 632
8. Symmetric products 635

Chapter XVII Semisimplicity 641

1. Matrices and linear maps over non-commutative rings 641
2. Conditions defining semisimplicity 645
3. The density theorem 646
4. Semisimple rings 651
5. Simple rings 654
6. The Jacobson radical, base change, and tensor product s 657
7. Balanced modules 660
 CONTENTS XV

Chapter XVIII Representations of Finite Groups 663

1. Repre sentations and semisimplicity 663
2. Characters 667
3. I-d imen sional repre sentations 671
4. The space of clas s function s 673
5. Orthogonality relations 677
6. Induced characters 686
7. Induced repre sentations 688
8. Positive decomposition of the regular character 699
9. Supersolvable groups 702
10. Brauer's theorem 704
11. Field of definition of a representation 710
12. Example : GL 2 over a finite field 712

Chapter XIX The Alternating Product 731

1. Definition and basic properties 731
2. Fitting ideals 738
3. Universal derivations and the de Rham complex 746
4 . The Clifford algebra 749

Part Four Homological Algebra

Chapter XX General Homology Theory 761

1. Complexes 761
2. Homology sequence 767
3. Euler characteristic and the Grothendieck group 769
4 . Injective modules 782
5 . Homotopies of morphisms of complexes 787
6. Derived functors 790
7. Delta-functors 799
8. Bifunctors 806
9 . Spectral sequences 814

Chapter XXI Finite Free Resolutions 835

1. Special complexes 835
2. Finite free resolutions 839
3. Unimodular polynomial vectors 846
4. The Koszul complex 850

Appendix 1 The Transcendence of e and Tt 867

Appendix 2 Some Set Theory 875
Bibliography 895
Index 903