Commutators of trace zero matrices over principal ideal rings

Abstract

We prove that for every trace zero matrix $A$ over a principal ideal ring $R$, there exist trace zero matrices $X,Y$ over $R$ such that $XY-YX=A$. Moreover, we show that $X$ can be taken to be regular mod every maximal ideal of $R$. This strengthens our earlier result that $A$ is a commutator of two matrices (not necessarily of trace zero), and in addition, the present proof is significantly simpler than the earlier one. Shalev has conjectured an analogous statement for group commutators in $\mathrm{SL}_{n}$ over $p$-adic integers. We prove Shalev's conjecture for $n=2$.