Published online by Cambridge University Press: 20 November 2018
A well-known theorem asserts that if K is a field, a prime ideal in the polynomial ring S = K[X1, … Xn] and d the transcendence degree of S / over K
n = rank + d.
In the first half of this paper we extend this result to the case of arbitrary commutative noetherian K, as well as giving a purely homological proof of the classical theorem. In the second half we use our first result to compute the analogue of the dimension of the product and intersection of two affine varieties when K is a Dedekind ring.