Editing Injective module (section)

===Baer's criterion===

In Baer's original paper, he proved a useful result, usually known as Baer's Criterion, for checking whether a module is injective: a left ''R''-module ''Q'' is injective if and only if any homomorphism ''g'' : ''I'' → ''Q'' defined on a [[ideal (ring theory)|left ideal]] ''I'' of ''R'' can be extended to all of ''R''.

Using this criterion, one can show that '''Q''' is an injective [[abelian group]] (i.e. an injective module over '''Z'''). More generally, an abelian group is injective if and only if it is [[divisible module|divisible]]. More generally still: a module over a [[principal ideal domain]] is injective if and only if it is divisible (the case of vector spaces is an example of this theorem, as every field is a principal ideal domain and every vector space is divisible). Over a general integral domain, we still have one implication: every injective module over an integral domain is divisible.

Baer's criterion has been refined in many ways {{harv|Golan|Head|1991|p=119}}, including a result of {{harv|Smith|1981}} and {{harv|Vámos|1983}} that for a commutative Noetherian ring, it suffices to consider only [[prime ideal]]s ''I''. The dual of Baer's criterion, which would give a test for projectivity, is false in general. For instance, the '''Z'''-module '''Q''' satisfies the dual of Baer's criterion but is not projective.