Eggert's Conjecture says that if R is a finite-dimensional nilpotent commutative algebra over a perfect field F of characteristic p, and R^{(p)} is the image of the p-th power map on R, then dim_F R \geq p dim_F R^{(p)}. Whether this very elementary statement is true is not known. We examine heuristic evidence for this conjecture, versions of the conjecture that are not limited to positive characteristic and/or to commutative R, consequences the conjecture would have for semigroups, and examples that give equality in the conjectured inequality. We pose several related questions, and briefly survey the literature on the subject.

If L is a finite lattice, we show that there is a natural topological lattice structure on the geometric realization of its order complex Δ(L) (definition recalled below). Lattice-theoretically, the resulting object is a subdirect product of copies of L. We note properties of this construction and of some variants, and pose several questions. For M3 the 5–element nondistributive modular lattice, Δ(M3) is modular, but its underlying topological space does not admit a structure of distributive lattice, answering a question of Walter Taylor. We also describe a construction of “stitching together” a family of lattices along a common chain, and note how Δ(M3) can be regarded as an example of this construction.

We study properties of a group, abelian group, ring, or monoid B which (a) guarantee that every homomorphism from an infinite direct product ΠI Ai of objects of the same sort onto B factors through the direct product of finitely many ultraproducts of the Ai (possibly after composition with the natural map B → B/Z(B) or some variant), and/or (b) guarantee that when a map does so factor (and the index set has reasonable cardinality), the ultrafilters involved must be principal. A number of open questions and topics for further investigation are noted.

If the free algebra F on one generator in a variety V of algebras (in the sense of universal algebra) has a subalgebra free on two generators, must it also have a subalgebra free on three generators? In general, no; but yes if F generates the variety V. Generalizing the argument, it is shown that if we are given an algebra and subalgebras, A_0\supseteq ... \supseteq A_n, in a prevariety (SP-closed class of algebras) P such that A_n generates P, and also subalgebras B_i\subseteq A_{i-1} (00 the subalgebra of A_{i-1} generated by A_i and B_i is their coproduct in P, then the subalgebra of A generated by B_1, ..., B_n is the coproduct in P of these algebras. Some further results on coproducts are noted: If P satisfies the amalgamation property, one has the stronger "transitivity" statement: if A has a finite family of subalgebras (B_i)_{i\in I} such that the subalgebra of A generated by the B_i is their coproduct, and each B_i has a finite family of subalgebras (C_{ij})_{j\in J_i} with the same property, then the subalgebra of A generated by all the C_{ij} is their coproduct. For P a residually small prevariety or an arbitrary quasivariety, relationships are proved between the least number of algebras needed to generate P as a prevariety or quasivariety, and behavior of the coproduct operation in P. It is shown by example that for B a subgroup of the group S = Sym(\Omega) of all permutations of an infinite set \Omega, the group S need not have a subgroup isomorphic over B to the coproduct with amalgamation S \cP_B S. But under weak additional hypotheses on B, the question remains open.

If $k$ is a field, $A$ and $B$ $k$-algebras, $M$ a faithful left $A$-module, and $N$ a faithful left $B$-module, we recall the proof that the left $A\otimes_k B$-module $M\otimes_k N$ is again faithful. If $k$ is a general commutative ring, we note some conditions on $A,$ $B,$ $M$ and $N$ that do, and others that do not, imply the same conclusion. Finally, we note a version of the main result that does not involve any algebra structures on $A$ and $B.$

It is shown that any finite-dimensional homomorphic image of an inverse limit of nilpotent not-necessarily-associative algebras over a field is nilpotent. More generally, this is true of algebras over a general commutative ring k, with "finite- dimensional" replaced by "of finite length as a k-module." These results are obtained by considering the multiplication algebra M(A) of an algebra A (the associative algebra of k-linear maps A → A generated by left and right multiplications by elements of A), and its behavior with respect to nilpotence, inverse limits, and homomorphic images. As a corollary, it is shown that a finite-dimensional homomorphic image of an inverse limit of finite-dimensional solvable Lie algebras over a field of characteristic 0 is solvable. It is also shown by example that infinite-dimensional homomorphic images of pro-nilpotent algebras can have properties far from those of nilpotent algebras; in particular, properties that imply that they are not residually nilpotent. Several open questions and directions for further investigation are noted. 2013 © University of Illinois.

Let V be a variety of not necessarily associative algebras, and A an inverse limit of nilpotent algebras Ai ∈ V, such that some finitely generated subalgebra S ⊆ A is dense in A under the inverse limit of the discrete topologies on the Ai. A sufficient condition on V is obtained for all algebra homomorphisms from A to finite-dimensional algebras B to be continuous; in other words, for the kernels of all such homomorphisms to be open ideals. This condition is satisfied, in particular, if V is the variety of associative, Lie, or Jordan algebras. Examples are given showing the need for our hypotheses, and some open questions are noted. 2013 © University of Illinois.

For P a poset or lattice, let Id(P) denote the poset, respectively, lattice, of upward directed downsets in P, including the empty set, and let id(P)=Id(P)-\{\emptyset\}. This note obtains various results to the effect that Id(P) is always, and id(P) often, "essentially larger" than P. In the first vein, we find that a poset P admits no "<"-respecting map (and so in particular, no one-to-one isotone map) from Id(P) into P, and, going the other way, that an upper semilattice S admits no semilattice homomorphism from any subsemilattice of itself onto Id(S). The slightly smaller object id(P) is known to be isomorphic to P if and only if P has ascending chain condition. This result is strengthened to say that the only posets P_0 such that for every natural number n there exists a poset P_n with id^n(P_n)\cong P_0 are those having ascending chain condition. On the other hand, a wide class of cases is noted here where id(P) is embeddable in P. Counterexamples are given to many variants of the results proved.

P.M. Cohn showed in 1971 that given a ring R, to describe, up to isomorphism, a division ring D generated by a homomorphic image of R is equivalent to specifying the set of square matrices over R which map to singular matrices over D, and he determined precisely the conditions that such a set of matrices must satisfy. The present author later developed another version of this data, in terms of closure operators on free R-modules. In this note, we examine the latter concept further, and show how an R-module M satisfying certain conditions can be made to induce such data. In an appendix we make some observations on Cohn's original construction, and note how the data it uses can similarly be induced by an appropriate sort of R-module. Our motivation is the longstanding question of whether, for G a right-orderable group and k a field, the group algebra kG must be embeddable in a division ring. Our hope is that the right kG-module M=k((G)) might induce a closure operator of the required sort. We re-prove a partial result in this direction due to N.I. Dubrovin, note a plausible generalization thereof which would give the desired embedding, and also sketch some thoughts on other ways of approaching the problem.