Grothendieck Rings of Theories of Modules

Abstract

The model-theoretic Grothendieck ring of a first order structure, as defined by Krajic\v{e}k and Scanlon, captures some combinatorial properties of the definable subsets of finite powers of the structure. In this paper we compute the Grothendieck ring, $K_0(M_\mathcal R)$, of a right $R$-module $M$, where $\mathcal R$ is any unital ring. As a corollary we prove a conjecture of Prest that $K_0(M)$ is non-trivial, whenever $M$ is non-zero. The main proof uses various techniques from the homology theory of simplicial complexes.