Definition:Maximal Spectrum of Ring

Definition
Let $A$ be a commutative ring with unity.

The maximal spectrum of $A$ is the set of maximal ideals of $A$:


 * $\operatorname{Max} \: \Spec A = \set {\mathfrak m \lhd A : \mathfrak m \text { is maximal} }$

where $I \lhd A$ indicates that $I$ is an ideal of $A$.

The notation $\operatorname {Max} \: \Spec A$ is also a shorthand for the locally ringed space
 * $\struct {\operatorname {Max} \: \Spec A, \tau, \mathcal O_{\map {\operatorname {Max Spec} } A} }$

where:
 * $\tau$ is the Zariski topology on $\map {\operatorname {Max Spec} } A$
 * $\mathcal O_{\map {\operatorname {Max Spec} } A}$ is the structure sheaf of $\map {\operatorname {Max Spec} } A$

Also denoted as
The maximal spectrum of $A$ can also be denoted $\map {\max} A$.

Also see

 * Definition:Induced Mapping on Maximal Spectra
 * Definition:Prime Spectrum of Ring
 * Definition:Affine Algebraic Variety