A Generalization of Mathieu Subspaces to Modules of Associative Algebras

We first propose a generalization of the notion of Mathieu subspaces of associative algebras $\mathcal A$, which was introduced recently in [Z4] and [Z6], to $\mathcal A$-modules $\mathcal M$. The newly introduced notion in a certain sense also generalizes the notion of submodules. Related with this new notion, we also introduce the sets $\sigma(N)$ and $\tau(N)$ of stable elements and quasi-stable elements, respectively, for all $R$-subspaces $N$ of $\mathcal A$-modules $\mathcal M$, where $R$ is the base ring of $\mathcal A$. We then prove some general properties of the sets $\sigma(N)$ and $\tau(N)$. Furthermore, examples from certain modules of the quasi-stable algebras [Z6], matrix algebras over fields and polynomial algebras are also studied.