Algebraic Approach to Colombeau Theory

We present a differential algebra of generalized functions over a field of generalized scalars by means of several axioms in terms of general algebra and topology. Our differential algebra is of Colombeau type in the sense that it contains a copy of the space of Schwartz distributions, and the set of regular distributions with $\mathcal C^\infty$-kernels forms a differential subalgebra. We discuss the uniqueness of the field of scalars as well as the consistency and independence of our axioms. This article is written mostly to satisfy the interest of mathematicians and scientists who do not necessarily belong to the \emph{Colombeau community}; that is to say, those who do not necessarily work in the \emph{non-linear theory of generalized functions}.