Gorenstein-Projective Modules over the Ring of Dual Integers

Abstract

The ring of dual integers is the bounded polynomial ring $\mathbb Z[\epsilon]=\mathbb Z[T]/(T^2)$ with integer coefficients. We describe the (finitely generated) Gorenstein-projective $\mathbb Z[\epsilon]$-modules as the torsionless $\mathbb Z[\epsilon]$-modules, or equivalently, as the perfect differential structures of abelian groups. Moreover, the stable category of G-proj$\mathbb Z[\epsilon]$ modulo projectives is shown to be equivalent to the orbit category $\mathcal D^b(\mathbb Z)/[1]$ of the derived category of the integers and to the homotopy category of perfect differential structures. We note that the category G-proj$\mathbb Z[\epsilon]$ is related to the embeddings of a subgroup in a free abelian group and has a quotient which is equivalent to the category of finite abelian groups. In fact, we present a cube which has as vertices eight related categories and as edges functors which are such that the faces of the cube give rise to commutative diagrams. Among interesting properties in G-proj$\mathbb Z[\epsilon]$, we note that uniqueness of direct sum decomposition fails.