Alphabeta Math
CorollaryStatement: Literature-sourcedProof: AI-adaptedprecheck passverified 2026-09-23 (gpt-6-sol)
How statement and proof provenance work

The first chip identifies the source of the statement or construction; the second identifies the source of its local proof or verification.

  • Literature-sourced: the exact statement appears in a cited source; only wording and notation differ.
  • AI-adapted: a semantically identical restatement of literature-sourced material, modulo indexing, notation, and boundary cases adopted by the library.
  • AI-generated: a genuinely novel statement formulated by AI, with no source for the claim itself.

These labels describe origin, not correctness: citations and verification chips remain separate evidence.

A radical ideal in a Noetherian ring is the intersection of its minimal primes

Statement

Assume Dependent Choice.

Let R be a Noetherian commutative ring and let I⊴R be a radical ideal. Then there exist finitely many prime ideals p1,…,pm minimal over I such that I=p1∩⋯∩pm. When I=R, this is the empty intersection.

Facts & Assumptions

Given: Dependent Choice, a Noetherian commutative ring R, and a radical ideal I⊴R.

[L1]

Assuming Dependent Choice, every ideal of a Noetherian ring has a minimal primary decomposition (Every submodule of a finite module over a Noetherian ring has a minimal primary decomposition).

[L2]

The radical of a primary ideal is prime (The radical of a primary ideal is prime).

[L3]

The radical of an intersection of n≥1 ideals is the intersection of their radicals (The radical of a finite intersection).

Proof

technique · direct
1.1given

If I=R, then no prime ideal contains I, and the empty intersection is R. This is exactly the stated boundary case.

1.2L1L2L3choosealgebra

Assume I≠R. By [L1], choose a minimal primary decomposition I=Q1∩⋯∩Qr. Since the empty intersection is R, one has r≥1. For each i, put pi=Qi. Fact [L2] makes every pi prime. Since I is radical, I=I=Q1∩⋯∩Qr=Q1∩⋯∩Qr=p1∩⋯∩pr by [L3].

2.1step 1.2algebra

Let M be the set of inclusion-minimal members among the finite family {p1,…,pr}. If one prime in the family contains another, removing the larger one does not change the intersection, so the intersection over M is still I. The product p1⋯pr lies in I. Thus every prime q containing I contains that product, and primality forces pi⊆q for some i. If q is minimal over I, then q=pi, so q belongs to M. Conversely, if p∈M and a prime q satisfies I⊆q⊆p, the same product argument gives pi⊆q⊆p for some i. Inclusion-minimality in the finite family forces pi=p, hence q=p. Therefore the members of M are exactly the minimal primes over I.

3.1step 1.1step 1.2step 2.1∎

Steps 1.1, 1.2, and 2.1 prove that a radical ideal is the finite intersection of its minimal primes.

Depends on

Used by

Dependency tree · two levels

18 results within two dependency steps of this one, each drawn at its shortest distance from it. An arrow runs from a result to what uses it, so the chart reads left to right and ends at this result, which carries a heavier outline. Every node is a link to that result. Click elsewhere on the chart to enlarge it.

Sources