Published online by Cambridge University Press: 14 February 2012
A quasi-field is denned by the postulates of a commutative algebraic field, except that the distributive law a(b + c) = ab + ac is replaced by a(b1+ … +bn)=ab1+ … +abn for a fixed integer n.
The properties of quasi-fields are investigated. The study of their ideals is reduced to the study of the ideals of a certain type of ring. A particular quasi-field is constructed formally by means of polynomial domains modulo a natural number, with addition specially defined.
Quasi-fields are connected with multiple fields—another generalisation of the conception of a commutative field, in which a fixed number of elements (> 2) co-operate symmetrically in the formation of any sum or product.