Multiplicative Relationships of Subrings and their Applications to Factorization

Abstract

When studying the properties of a ring $R$, it is often useful to compare $R$ to other rings whose properties are already known. In this paper, we define three ways in which a subring $R$ might be compared to a larger ring $T$: being associated, being ideal-preserving, or being locally associated. We then explore how these properties of a subring might be leveraged to give information about $R$, including applications to the field of factorization. Of particular interest is the result that an order in a number field is associated if and only if it is both ideal-preserving and locally associated. We conclude with a discussion of how these properties are realized in the case of orders in a number field and how such orders might be found.