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TheoremStatement: Literature-sourcedProof: AI-adaptedprecheck passjudge pass (gpt-5.6-terra)audited 2026-09-01
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A flat ring map is faithfully flat exactly when it detects proper ideals and is surjective on spectra

Statement

Assume the Axiom of Choice for the prime and maximal ideal existence used in the spectral reformulations.

Let f:RS be a flat homomorphism of commutative rings. The following are equivalent:

  1. f is faithfully flat.
  2. For every proper ideal IR, the extended ideal IS is proper.
  3. Every maximal ideal of R has a prime ideal of S lying over it.
  4. The map on prime spectra Spec(S)Spec(R) is surjective.

Facts & Assumptions

Given: A flat ring map f:RS.

[L1]

Faithful flatness for the R-module S is equivalent to detecting every nonzero module and every residue field fibre (For a flat module, faithful flatness is equivalent to detecting nonzero modules and residue fields).

[L2]

A flat ring map is precisely a flat R-module structure on its target (Flat and faithfully flat modules and ring homomorphisms).

Proof

technique · direct
1.1

By [L2], the flatness of f is the flatness of the R-module S. For a proper ideal I, the quotient R/I is nonzero, and (R/I)RSS/IS. Therefore [L1] says that f is faithfully flat exactly when S/IS0 for every proper ideal I, which is equivalent to ISS. So 1 and 2 are equivalent.

L1L2given
1.2

A prime of S lying over a maximal ideal m exists exactly when the fibre ring SRκ(m) is nonzero. Since R/mRSS/mS and m is maximal, this is precisely the maximal-ideal fibre condition in [L1]. Thus 1 and 3 are equivalent.

L1algebra
1.3

Assume 1 and let pR be prime. By the prime-fibre form of [L1], the ring T:=SRκ(p) is nonzero. Choose a prime ideal nT, and let q be its preimage in S. Because the composite RST factors through κ(p), every element of p maps to 0 in T, so pqR. If rRp, then its image in the field κ(p) is a unit, hence its image in T is a unit and cannot lie in the prime n. Therefore rq, so qR=p. Thus a prime of S lies over p, and 1 implies 4.

L1givenchoosealgebra
2.1

Condition 4 obviously implies 3. Since step 1.2 gives 3 if and only if 1, condition 4 is equivalent to 1 as well.

step 1.2algebra
3.1

Therefore 1, 2, 3, and 4 are equivalent.

step 1.1step 1.2step 1.3step 2.1

Depends on

Used by

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Sources