THE UNIT SUM NUMBER OF SOME PROJECTIVE MODULES

Abstract

AbstractThe unit sum number u(R) of a ring R is the least k such that every element is the sum of k units; if there is no such k then u(R) is ω or ∞ depending whether the units generate R additively or not. If RM is a left R-module, then the unit sum number of M is defined to be the unit sum number of the endomorphism ring of M. Here we show that if R is a ring such that R/J(R) is semisimple and $\Z_{2}$ is not a factor of R/J(R) and if P is a projective R-module such that JP ≪ P, (JP small in P), then u(P)= 2. As a result we can see that if P is a projective module over a perfect ring then u(P)=2.