TITLE: Invertible and primitive polynomials
QUESTION [6 upvotes]: I shall prove some properties on a polynomial ring $R[x]$ over a commutative ring $R$, and there are two with which I struggle:

For some $f=a_0+a_1x+\cdots+a_nx^n\in R[x]$,

$f$ is invertible in $R[x] \Leftrightarrow a_0$ is invertible, and $a_1,...,a_n$ are nilpotent.
$fg$ is primitive $\Leftrightarrow f$ and $g$ are primitive, where primitive means: $(a_0,...,a_n)=(1)$.


The first one is quite intuitive and $a_0$ must be invertible since the first coefficient of the unit-polynomial shall be $1$, but I do not follow the nilpotency of the other coefficients.
Can anyone help?

REPLY [3 votes]: For 2: write $f=a_0+\cdots+a_nx^n$, $g=b_0+\cdots+b_mx^m$, $fg=c_0+\cdots+c_d x^d$, with $d\leq n+m$, $a_n\neq 0$, $b_m\neq 0$, $c_d\neq 0$. 
Let $\mathfrak{m}$ be a maximal ideal of $R$; if $f$ and $g$ are each primitive, then there exists $i,j$ such that $a_i\notin\mathfrak{m}$ but $a_{0},\ldots,a_{i-1}\in\mathfrak{m}$; and $b_j\notin\mathfrak{m}$, but $b_0,\ldots,b_{j-1}\in\mathfrak{m}$. Then
$$\begin{align*}
c_{i+j} &= a_0b_{i+j} + \cdots + a_{i-1}b_{j+1}\\
&\quad\mathop{+} a_ib_j\\
&\quad\mathop{+}a_{i+1}b_{j-1}+\cdots + a_{i+j}b_0.
\end{align*}$$
Every term on the first line of the right hand side is in $\mathfrak{m}$, and every term on the last line of the right hand side is in $\mathfrak{m}$; so $c_{i+j}\in\mathfrak{m}$ if and only if $a_ib_j\in\mathfrak{m}$.  Hence...
Conversely, note that $(c_0,c_1,\ldots,c_d)\subseteq (a_0,\ldots,a_n)(b_0,\ldots,b_m)$. So if $fg$ is primitive, then...