Idempotent elements in a ring (2)
An element
-
Prove that
is also idempotent. -
Prove that
and are both ideals in and that -
Prove that if
has a unique maximal ideal, then the only idempotent elements in are 0 and 1.
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An element $r$ of a ring $R$ is said to be {\bfseries idempotent} if $r^2=r$. Suppose that $R$ is a commutative ring with unity containing an idempotent element $e$.
\medskip
\begin{enumerate}[label=(\alph*)]
\item Prove that $1-e$ is also idempotent.
\item Prove that $eR$ and $(1-e)R$ are both ideals in $R$ and that
\[
R\cong eR\times (1-e)R.
\]
\item Prove that if $R$ has a unique maximal ideal, then the only idempotent elements in $R$ are 0 and 1.
\end{enumerate}