divisibility by product
Theorem.
Let be a Bézout ring, i.e. a commutative ring with non-zero unity where every finitely generated ideal is a principal ideal
. If are three elements of such that and divide and , then also divides .
Proof. The divisibility assumptions that where and are some elements of . Because is a Bézout ring, there exist such elements and of that . This implies the equation which shows that is divisible by , i.e. , . Consequently, , or Q.E.D.
Note 1. The theorem may by induction be generalized for several factors (http://planetmath.org/Divisibility) of .
Note 2. The theorem holds e.g. in all Bézout domains, especially in principal ideal domains, such as and polynomial rings
over a field.