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Total Ring of Fractions


A total ring of fractions of a nonzero commutative ring R with multiplicative identity is the localization Q(R)=S^(-1)R, where S is the set of all nonzero elements that are not zero divisors. It is also called a total quotient ring (Stacks Project, Tag 00CM).

The natural ring homomorphism R->Q(R) is injective. Indeed, a/1=0 requires sa=0 for some s in S, which forces a=0 by the choice of S. This distinguishes the total ring of fractions from a general ring of fractions obtained by localization at an arbitrary multiplicatively closed set. For an integral domain, S=R\{0} and Q(R) is its field of fractions. For R=Z/6Z, instead, the permitted denominators are the ring units 1 and 5, so Q(R) is isomorphic to R, despite the presence of zero divisors.


See also

Localization, Ring of Fractions

Portions of this entry contributed by Margherita Barile

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References

Stacks Project. "Localization." Tag 00CM. https://stacks.math.columbia.edu/tag/00CM.

Referenced on Wolfram|Alpha

Total Ring of Fractions

Cite this as:

Weisstein, Eric W., with contributions by Margherita Barile. "Total Ring of Fractions." From MathWorld--A Wolfram Resource. https://mathworld.wolfram.com/TotalRingofFractions.html

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