Baer extensions of rings and stone extensions of semigroups

Let R be a commutative semigroup [resp. ring] with identity and zero, but without nilpotent elements. We say that R is a Stone semigroup [Baer ring], if for each annihilator ideal P⊂R there are idempotents e₁ ε P and e₂ ε Ann(P) such that x→(e₁x, e₂x):R→P×Ann(P) is an isomorphism. We show that for a given R there exists a Stone semigroup [Baer ring] S containing R that is minimal with respect to this property. In the ring case, S is uniquely determined if one requires that there be a natural bijection between the sets of annihilator ideals of R and S. This is close to results of J. Kist [5]. Like Kist, we use elementary sheaf-theoretical methods (see [2], [3], [6]). Proofs are not very detailed. An address delivered at the Symposium on Semigroups and the Multiplicative Structure of Rings, University of Puerto Rico, Mayaguez, Puerto Rico, March 9–13, 1970.