Idealizer

In abstract algebra, the idealizer of a subsemigroup T of a semigroup S is the largest subsemigroup of S in which T is an ideal. Such an idealizer is given by

[math]\displaystyle{ \mathbb{I}_S(T)=\{s\in S \mid sT\subseteq T \text{ and } Ts\subseteq T\}. }[/math]

In ring theory, if A is an additive subgroup of a ring R, then [math]\displaystyle{ \mathbb{I}_R(A) }[/math] (defined in the multiplicative semigroup of R) is the largest subring of R in which A is a two-sided ideal.

In Lie algebra, if L is a Lie ring (or Lie algebra) with Lie product [x,y], and S is an additive subgroup of L, then the set

[math]\displaystyle{ \{r\in L\mid [r,S]\subseteq S\} }[/math]

is classically called the normalizer of S, however it is apparent that this set is actually the Lie ring equivalent of the idealizer. It is not necessary to specify that [S,r] ⊆ S, because anticommutativity of the Lie product causes [s,r] = −[r,s] ∈ S. The Lie "normalizer" of S is the largest subring of L in which S is a Lie ideal.

Comments

Often, when right or left ideals are the additive subgroups of R of interest, the idealizer is defined more simply by taking advantage of the fact that multiplication by ring elements is already absorbed on one side. Explicitly,

[math]\displaystyle{ \mathbb{I}_R(T)=\{r\in R \mid rT\subseteq T \} }[/math]

if T is a right ideal, or

[math]\displaystyle{ \mathbb{I}_R(L)=\{r\in R \mid Lr\subseteq L \} }[/math]

if L is a left ideal.

In commutative algebra, the idealizer is related to a more general construction. Given a commutative ring R, and given two subsets A and B of a right R-module M, the conductor or transporter is given by

[math]\displaystyle{ (A:B):=\{r\in R \mid Br\subseteq A\} }[/math].

In terms of this conductor notation, an additive subgroup B of R has idealizer

[math]\displaystyle{ \mathbb{I}_R(B)=(B:B) }[/math].

When A and B are ideals of R, the conductor is part of the structure of the residuated lattice of ideals of R.

Examples

The multiplier algebra M(A) of a C*-algebra A is isomorphic to the idealizer of π(A) where π is any faithful nondegenerate representation of A on a Hilbert space H.

References

• Goodearl, K. R. (1976), Ring theory: Nonsingular rings and modules, Pure and Applied Mathematics, No. 33, New York: Marcel Dekker Inc., pp. viii+206 
• Levy, Lawrence S.; Robson, J. Chris (2011), Hereditary Noetherian prime rings and idealizers, Mathematical Surveys and Monographs, 174, Providence, RI: American Mathematical Society, pp. iv+228, ISBN 978-0-8218-5350-4 
• Mikhalev, Alexander V.; Pilz, Günter F., eds. (2002), The concise handbook of algebra, Dordrecht: Kluwer Academic Publishers, pp. xvi+618, ISBN 0-7923-7072-4