Published online by Cambridge University Press: 09 April 2009
In many respects the theory of semi-prime rings (i.e. rings without proper nilpotents) is similar to that for lattice-ordered groups. In this paper semi-prime rings are faithfully represented as subrings of continuous global sections of sheaves of integral domains with Boolean base spaces. This representation allows a simple description of a particular extension of a semi-prime ring as the corresponding ring of all continuous global sections. The ideals in a semi-prime ring R that give rise to the stalks in the sheaf representation are then characterized when R is projectable. Finally equivalent conditions are given for a semi-prime ring R to satisfy a condition, that in the case of lattice-groups, was termed “weak projectability” by Spirason and Strzelecki [8]. Some of the results that are common to semi-prime rings and lattice-groups (and semi-prime semigroups) have been extended to certain universal algebras by Davey [3].