Can you choose -1 as the multiplicative unit? And what is a positive number?

158 Views Asked by At

If one starts with the cyclic group of integers and want to introduce multiplikation the ordinare choice of multiplicative identity is the generator 1. But since 1 and its inverse -1 is sort of the same in the cyclic group, there is an automorphism that exchange these it should be possible to use -1 as multiplicative unit? How can "a positive number" be defined? In the ordinary setting starting with the integers as a cyclic (additive) group it seems that once you choose the multiplicative unit there is a split in positive and negative numbers. In what sort of structures does it make sense? For all Z/nZ it seems possible to do with one sort of representative, so for practical purposes we could do arithmetic on the whole number in Z/nZ with a sufficiently large n.

1

There are 1 best solutions below

2
On
  1. There is an automorphism of $\mathbb{Z}$ the abelian group that exchanges $1$ and $-1$, but it doesn't respect multiplication: that is, it isn't an automorphism of $\mathbb{Z}$ the ring, which has no nontrivial automorphisms.

  2. Positivity comes from an order, which in general neither exists nor is unique. $\mathbb{Z}/n\mathbb{Z}$ does not have an order (compatible with its group structure).