The total ring of fractions of $\Bbb Z_n$

abstract-algebralocalizationring-theory

Consider the ring $\Bbb Z_n = \Bbb Z/n \Bbb Z$ ($n>1$, of course). Is the total ring of fractions of $\Bbb Z_n$ a familiar ring? (The total ring of fractions of a commutative ring $R$ with identity is the ring obtained from $R$ by adjoining inverses of non-zero elements of $R$ which are not zero divisors.)

I know that $\Bbb Z_p$ is a field when $p$ is prime, so that it is isomorphic to its ring of fractions. But I can't imagine what happens when $n$ is not a prime.

Best Answer

In any finite commutative unital ring, all non-zero-divisors are invertible (see below). So the total ring of fractions of $\Bbb Z_n$ is $\Bbb Z_n$ itself.

Proof of above proposition: Say we have a non-zero-divisor $a\in \Bbb Z_n$. Then consider the function $\Bbb Z_n\to \Bbb Z_n$ given by multiplication by $a$. This is a group homomorphism (on the additive group $\Bbb Z_n$). Because $a$ is a non-zero-divisor, it has trivial kernel, and it is therefore injective. Since $\Bbb Z_n$ is finite, the homomorphism is also surjective, so $1$ is in the image, showing that $a$ is invertible.

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