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Free product of associative algebras

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In algebra, the free product (coproduct) of a family of associative algebras over a commutative ring R is the associative algebra over R that is, roughly, defined by the generators and the relations of the 's. The free product of two algebras A, B is denoted by AB. The notion is a ring-theoretic analog of a free product of groups.

In the category of commutative R-algebras, the free product of two algebras (in that category) is their tensor product.

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Construction

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We first define a free product of two algebras. Let A and B be algebras over a commutative ring R. Consider their tensor algebra, the direct sum of all possible finite tensor products of A, B; explicitly, where

We then set

where I is the two-sided ideal generated by elements of the form

It is then straightforward to verify that the above construction possesses the universal property of a coproduct.

A finite free product is defined similarly.

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References

  • K. I. Beidar, W. S. Martindale and A. V. Mikhalev, Rings with generalized identities, Section 1.4. This reference was mentioned in "Coproduct in the category of (noncommutative) associative algebras". Stack Exchange. May 9, 2012.


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