Unique factorisation rings

Abstract

Let R be a ring. An element p of R is a prime element if pR = Rp is a prime ideal of R. A prime ring R is said to be a Unique Factorisation Ring if every non-zero prime ideal contains a prime element. This paper develops the basic theory of U.F.R.s. We show that every polynomial extension in central indeterminates of a U.F.R. is a U.F.R. We consider in more detail the case when a U.F.R. is either Noetherian or satisfies a polynomial identity. In particular we show that such a ring R is a maximal order, that every height-1 prime ideal of R has a classical localisation in which every two-sided ideal is principal, and that R is the intersection of a left and right Noetherian ring and a simple ring.