# nLab spectrum of a commutative ring

This entry is about the formal dual topological space of a commutative ring. For the very different notion of a similar name in higher algebra see at ring spectrum. For more see at spectrum - disambiguation.

# Contents

## Idea

Given a commutative ring $R$, its spectrum is the topological space whose points are the prime ideals of $R$ and whose topology is the Zariski topology on these prime ideals. (The prime spectrum)

## References

Revised on May 6, 2017 07:31:01 by Anonymous (87.165.118.230)