For a ring, this value is the number of times you have to add the multiplicative identity to get the additive identity.
For a ring, this value is the number of times you have to add the multiplicative identity to get the additive identity. It's not "minimal," but this adjective describes an object that is the product of all invariant factors of a Jordan normal form. This term also denotes a type of curve along which a partial differential equation becomes an ordinary differential equation and is solvable. The Cayley-Hamilton theorem concerns solutions to a polynomial described by this adjective, which has zeroes at the eigenvalues of an associated matrix. This word also denotes a quantity computed by the formula vertices minus edges plus faces. For 10 points, give this mathematical term that denotes a quantity that is two for any convex polyhedron and is named for Euler.
For a ring, this value is the number of times you have to add the multiplicative identity to get the additive identity.
characteristic [or characteristic polynomial; or Euler characteristic; or characteristic curve]