The Dedekind-Hasse Criterion in Quaternion Algebras

Abstract

We show that a criterion for an integral domain to be a principal ideal domain (PID), due to Dedekind and Hasse, can also be applied in quaternion orders, and that it can be used to build a finite algorithm to determine if a given order is a principal left (or right) ideal domain. Using this algorithm, we give an alternative proof that the maximal orders of discriminant 7 and 13, which are non-Euclidean, are PIDs. We also provide a completely arithmetic proof of a result of Gordon Pall that shows that, in an order that is a PID, an element of whose norm is divisible by an integer $m$ always has a left and a right divisor with norm $m$. This easily yields the existence and uniqueness (up to associates) of factorizations of a quaternion modeled on a factorization of its norm.