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Semifield

In mathematics, a semifield is an algebraic structure with two binary operations, addition and multiplication, which is similar to a field, but with some axioms relaxed. The term semifield has two conflicting meanings, both of which include fields as a special case. In projective geometry and finite geometry (MSC 51A, 51E, 12K10), a semifield is a nonassociative division ring with multiplicative identity element. More precisely, it is a nonassociative ring whose nonzero elements form a loop under multiplication. In other words, a semifield is a set S with two operations + (addition) and · (multiplication), such that (S,+) is an abelian group, multiplication is distributive on both the left and right, there exists a multiplicative identity element, and division is always possible: for every a and every nonzero b in S, there exist unique x and y in S for which b·x = a and y·b = a. Note in particular that the multiplication is not assumed to be commutative or associative. A semifield that is associative is a division ring, and one that is both associative and commutative is a field. A semifield by this definition is a special case of a quasifield. If S is finite, the last axiom in the definition above can be replaced with the assumption that there are no zero divisors, so that a·b = 0 implies that a = 0 or b = 0. Note that due to the lack of associativity, the last axiom is not equivalent to the assumption that every nonzero element has a multiplicative inverse, as is usually found in definitions of fields and division rings. In ring theory, combinatorics, functional analysis, and theoretical computer science (MSC 16Y60), a semifield is a semiring (S,+,·) in which all nonzero elements have a multiplicative inverse. These objects are also called proper semifields. A variation of this definition arises if S contains an absorbing zero that is different from the multiplicative unit e, it is required that the non-zero elements be invertible, and a·0 = 0·a = 0. Since multiplication is associative, the (non-zero) elements of a semifield form a group.

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Related publications (2)

A Szemeredi-Trotter type theorem, sum-product estimates in finite quasifields, and related results

Van Thang Pham

We prove a Szemeredi-Trotter type theorem and a sum product estimate in the setting of finite quasifields. These estimates generalize results of the fourth author, of Garaev, and of Vu. We generalize results of Gyarmati and Sarkozy on the solvability of th ...
Academic Press Inc Elsevier Science2017

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In this thesis we study a number of problems in Discrete Combinatorial Geometry in finite spaces. The contents in this thesis are structured as follows: In Chapter 1 we will state the main results and the notations which will be used throughout the thesis. ...
EPFL2017
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Related concepts (3)
Quasifield
In mathematics, a quasifield is an algebraic structure where and are binary operations on , much like a division ring, but with some weaker conditions. All division rings, and thus all fields, are quasifields. A quasifield is a structure, where and are binary operations on , satisfying these axioms: is a group is a loop, where (left distributivity) has exactly one solution for , Strictly speaking, this is the definition of a left quasifield. A right quasifield is similarly defined, but satisfies right distributivity instead.
Semiring
In abstract algebra, a semiring is an algebraic structure. It is a generalization of a ring, dropping the requirement that each element must have an additive inverse. At the same time, it is a generalization of bounded distributive lattices. The smallest semiring that is not a ring is the two-element Boolean algebra, e.g. with logical disjunction as addition. A motivating example that is neither a ring nor a lattice is the set of natural numbers under ordinary addition and multiplication, when including the number zero.
Quasigroup
In mathematics, especially in abstract algebra, a quasigroup is an algebraic structure resembling a group in the sense that "division" is always possible. Quasigroups differ from groups mainly in that they need not be associative and need not have an identity element. A quasigroup with an identity element is called a loop. There are at least two structurally equivalent formal definitions of quasigroup. One defines a quasigroup as a set with one binary operation, and the other, from universal algebra, defines a quasigroup as having three primitive operations.

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