Structure of Zhou Nil-clean Rings

Abstract

A ring R is Zhou nil-clean if every element in R is the sum of two tripotents and a nilpotent that commute. Homomorphic images of Zhou nil-clean rings are explored. We prove that a ring R is Zhou nil-clean if and only if 30 ϵ R is nilpotent and R/30R is Zhou nil-clean, if and only if R/BM(R) is 5-potent and BM(R) is nil, if and only if J(R) is nil and R/J(R) is isomorphic to a Boolean ring, a Yaqub ring, a Bell ring or a direct product of such rings. By means of homomorphic images, we completely determine when the generalized matrix ring is Zhou nil-clean. We prove that the generalized matrix ring Mn(R; s) is Zhou nil-clean if and only if R is Zhou nil-clean and s ϵ J(R).