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Pure element)
In mathematics, in particular abstract algebra, a graded algebra is an algebra over a field with an extra piece of structure, known as a grading.
Graded algebra
A graded algebra A is an algebra that can be written as a direct sum
such that
A graded algebra is a special case of a graded vector space. Elements of An are known as homogeneous elements of degree n.
Examples of graded algebras are common in mathematics:
Graded algebras are much used in commutative algebra and algebraic geometry, homological algebra and algebraic topology. One example is the close relationship between homogeneous polynomials and projective varieties.
G-graded algebra
We can generalize the definition of a graded algebra to an arbitrary monoid as an index set. Let G be an monoid. A G-graded algebra A is an algebra with a direct sum decomposition
such that
An element of the ith subspace Ai is said to be a homogeneous (or pure) element of degree i.
(If we don't require that the ring has an identity element, we can extend the definition from monoids to semigroups.
Examples of G-graded algebras include:
Category theoretically, a G-graded algebra A is an object in the category of G-graded vector spaces together with a morphism
of the degree of the identity of G.
Clifford algebras and superalgebras are examples of Z2-graded algebras. Here the homogeneous elements are either even (degree 0) or odd (degree 1).
See also