English

Specker Algebras: A Survey

Rings and Algebras 2020-01-29 v2

Abstract

For a commutative ring RR with identity, a Specker RR-algebra is a commutative unital RR-algebra generated by a Boolean algebra of idempotents, each nonzero element of which is faithful. Such algebras have arisen in the study of \ell-groups, idempotent-generated rings, Boolean powers of commutative rings, Pierce duality, and rings of continuous real-valued functions. We trace the origin of this notion from early studies of subgroups of bounded integer-valued functions to a variety of current contexts involving ring-theoretic, topological, and homological aspects of idempotent-generated algebras.

Keywords

Cite

@article{arxiv.2001.08797,
  title  = {Specker Algebras: A Survey},
  author = {Guram Bezhanishvili and Patrick J. Morandi and Bruce Olberding},
  journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:2001.08797},
  year   = {2020}
}
R2 v1 2026-06-23T13:19:23.897Z