Torsion (algebra)
In mathematics, specifically in ring theory, a torsion element is an element of a module that yields zero when multiplied by some non-zero-divisor of the ring. The torsion submodule of a module is the submodule formed by the torsion elements (in cases when this is indeed a submodule, such as when the ring is commutative). A torsion module is a module consisting entirely of torsion elements. A module is torsion-free if its only torsion element is the zero element.
For other uses, see Torsion (disambiguation).
This terminology is more commonly used for modules over a domain, that is, when the regular elements of the ring are all its nonzero elements.
This terminology applies to abelian groups (with "module" and "submodule" replaced by "group" and "subgroup"). This is allowed by the fact that the abelian groups are the modules over the ring of integers (in fact, this is the origin of the terminology, which was introduced for abelian groups before being generalized to modules).
In the case of groups that are noncommutative, a torsion element is an element of finite order. Contrary to the commutative case, the torsion elements do not form a subgroup, in general.
Definition[edit]
An element m of a module M over a ring R is called a torsion element of the module if there exists a regular element r of the ring (an element that is neither a left nor a right zero divisor) that annihilates m, i.e., r m = 0.
In an integral domain (a commutative ring without zero divisors), every non-zero element is regular, so a torsion element of a module over an integral domain is one annihilated by a non-zero element of the integral domain. Some authors use this as the definition of a torsion element, but this definition does not work well over more general rings.
A module M over a ring R is called a torsion module if all its elements are torsion elements, and torsion-free if zero is the only torsion element.[1] If the ring R is commutative then the set of all torsion elements forms a submodule of M, called the torsion submodule of M, sometimes denoted T(M). If R is not commutative, T(M) may or may not be a submodule. It is shown in (Lam 2007) that R is a right Ore ring if and only if T(M) is a submodule of M for all right R-modules. Since right Noetherian domains are Ore, this covers the case when R is a right Noetherian domain (which might not be commutative).
More generally, let M be a module over a ring R and S be a multiplicatively closed subset of R. An element m of M is called an S-torsion element if there exists an element s in S such that s annihilates m, i.e., s m = 0. In particular, one can take for S the set of regular elements of the ring R and recover the definition above.
An element g of a group G is called a torsion element of the group if it has finite order, i.e., if there is a positive integer m such that gm = e, where e denotes the identity element of the group, and gm denotes the product of m copies of g. A group is called a torsion (or periodic) group if all its elements are torsion elements, and a torsion-free group if its only torsion element is the identity element. Any abelian group may be viewed as a module over the ring Z of integers, and in this case the two notions of torsion coincide.
Torsion in homological algebra[edit]
The concept of torsion plays an important role in homological algebra. If M and N are two modules over a commutative domain R (for example, two abelian groups, when R = Z), Tor functors yield a family of R-modules Tori (M,N). The S-torsion of an R-module M is canonically isomorphic to TorR1(M, RS/R) by the exact sequence of TorR*: The short exact sequence of R-modules yields an exact sequence , and hence is the kernel of the localisation map of M. The symbol Tor denoting the functors reflects this relation with the algebraic torsion. This same result holds for non-commutative rings as well as long as the set S is a right denominator set.
