Euclidean Domain - Properties

Properties

Let R be a domain and f a Euclidean function on R. Then:

• R is a principal ideal domain. In fact, if I is a nonzero ideal of R then any element a of I\{0} with minimal value (on that set) of f(a) is a generator of I. As a consequence R is also a unique factorization domain and a Noetherian ring. With respect to general principal ideal domains, the existence of factorizations (i.e., that R is an atomic domain) is particularly easy to prove in Euclidean domains: choosing a Euclidean function f satisfying (EF2), x cannot have any decomposition into more than f(x) nonunit factors, so starting with x and repeatedly decomposing reducible factors is bound to produce a factorization into irreducible elements.

• Any element of R at which f takes its globally minimal value is invertible in R. If an f satisfying (EF2) is chosen, then the converse also holds, and f takes its minimal value exactly at the invertible elements of R.

• If the Euclidean property is algorithmic, i.e., if there is a division algorithm that for given a and nonzero b produces a quotient q and remainder r with a = bq + r and either r = 0 or f(r) < f(b), then an extended Euclidean algorithm can be defined in terms of this division operation.

Not every PID is Euclidean. For example, for d = −19, −43, −67, −163, the ring of integers of is a PID which is not Euclidean, but the cases d = −1, −2, −3, −7, −11 are Euclidean.

However, in many finite extensions of Q with trivial class group, the ring of integers is Euclidean (not necessarily with respect to the absolute value of the field norm; see below). Assuming the extended Riemann hypothesis, if K is a finite extension of Q and the ring of integers of K is a PID with an infinite number of units, then the ring of integers is Euclidean. In particular this applies to the case of totally real quadratic number fields with trivial class group. In addition (and without assuming ERH), if the field K is a Galois extension of Q, has trivial class group and unit rank strictly greater than three, then the ring of integers is Euclidean. An immediate corollary of this is that if the number field is Galois over Q, its class group is trivial and the extension has degree greater than 8 then the ring of integers is necessarily Euclidean.