Abstract. In this paper we present some new and old properties of divergences and divergence-free derivations.Throughout the paper all rings are commutative with unity. Let k be a ring and let d be a k-derivation of the polynomial ringThe derivation d is said to be divergence-free if d = 0.
PreliminariesLet k be a ring, and let R be a k-algebra. A k-linear mapping d : R → R is said to be a k-derivation of R iffor all a, b ∈ R. We denote by Der k (R) the set of all k-derivations of R.Thus, the set Der k (R) is an R-module which is also a Lie algebra.We denote by R d the kernel of d, that is,This set is a subring of R, called the ring of constants of R (with respect to d). If R is a field, then R d is a subfield of R.