On the socle of a noncommutative Jordan algebra

In this paper we study some questions related to the socle of a nondegenerate noncommutative Jordan algebra. First we show that elements of finite rank belong to the socle, and that every element in the socle is von Neumann regular and has finite spectrum. Next we show that for Jordan Banach algebras the socle coincides with the maximal von Neumann regular ideal. For a nondegenerate noncommutative Jordan algebra, the annihilator of its socle can be regarded as a radical which is, generally, larger than Jacobson radical. Moreover, a nondegenerate noncommutative Jordan algebra whose socle has zero annihilator is isomorphic to a subdirect sum of primitive algebras having nonzero socle (which were described in 4]). Finally, these results are specialized to the particular case of an alternative algebra.The authors wish to thank the referee for his suggestions for improving the presentation of the paper.