Fraction Field

🅟 Apr 05, 2026

  🅤 Apr 05, 2026

DEF-FRAC. Fraction Field.

Let $R$ be an integral domain. Define the equivalence relation on $R\times R^*$,

\[(a,b)\sim(x,y) \enspace\lrimp\enspace ax=by,\]

and write

\[\frac{a}{b} = [(a,b)].\]

The fraction field of $R$ is the field

\[\fract R = (R\times R^*)/{\sim}\]

with addition and multiplication defined by

\[\begin{align*} \frac{a}{b} + \frac{x}{y} &= \frac{ay+bx}{by}, \\ \frac{a}{b}\cdot\frac{x}{y} &= \frac{ax}{by}. \end{align*}\]