An injective module is a left EE over a RR such that for every injective i ⁣:A↪Bi\colon A\hookrightarrow B and every homomorphism f ⁣:A→Ef\colon A\to E, there exists a homomorphism g ⁣:B→Eg\colon B\to E with g∘i=fg\circ i=f.

Equivalent characterizations

Equivalently, the contravariant functor HomR(−,E)\mathrm{Hom}_R(-,E) is exact on (or, equivalently, ExtR1(−,E)=0\mathrm{Ext}^1_R(-,E)=0). Injective modules are the categorical dual of , and they can be recognized by in many settings.

Examples
  • Over a , every is injective as a module.
  • As a Z\mathbb Z-module, Q/Z\mathbb Q/\mathbb Z is injective (more generally, divisible abelian groups are injective Z\mathbb Z-modules).
  • If {Ei}i∈I\{E_i\}_{i\in I} are injective RR-modules, then ∏i∈IEi\prod_{i\in I} E_i is injective.