Injectivity in Equational Classes of Algebras

Abstract

The concept of injectivity in classes of algebras can be traced back to Baer's initial results for Abelian groups and modules in [1]. The first results in non-module types of algebras appeared when Halmos [14] described the injective Boolean algebras using Sikorski's lemma on extensions of Boolean homomorphisms [19]. In recent years, there have been several results (see references) describing the injective algebras in other particular equational classes of algebras.In [10], Eckmann and Schopf introduced the fundamental notion of essential extension and gave the basic relations that this concept had with injectivity in the equational class of all modules over a given ring. They developed the notion of an injective hull (or envelope) which provided every module with a minimal injective extension or equivalently, a maximal essential extension. In [6] and [9], it was noted that these relationships hold in any equational class with enough injectives.