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    Algebraic Number Theory
    Algebraic Number Theory
    Algebraic Number Theory
    Ebook464 pages8 hours

    Algebraic Number Theory

    By Edwin Weiss

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    Careful organization and clear, detailed proofs characterize this methodical, self-contained exposition of basic results of classical algebraic number theory from a relatively modem point of view. This volume presents most of the number-theoretic prerequisites for a study of either class field theory (as formulated by Artin and Tate) or the contemporary treatment of analytical questions (as found, for example, in Tate's thesis).
    Although concerned exclusively with algebraic number fields, this treatment features axiomatic formulations with a considerable range of applications. Modem abstract techniques constitute the primary focus. Topics include introductory materials on elementary valuation theory, extension of valuations, local and ordinary arithmetic fields, and global, quadratic, and cyclotomic fields.
    Subjects correspond to those usually covered in a one-semester, graduate level course in algebraic number theory, making this book ideal either for classroom use or as a stimulating series of exercises for mathematically minded individuals.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherDover Publications
    Release dateJan 27, 2012
    ISBN9780486154367
    Algebraic Number Theory

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      Algebraic Number Theory - Edwin Weiss

      Index

      1

      Elementary Valuation Theory

      The central feature of the subject commonly known as algebraic number theory is the problem of factorization in an algebraic number field, where by an algebraic number field we mean a finite extension of the rational field Q. Of course, it will take some time before the full meaning of this statement will become apparent.

      There are several distinct approaches to our subject matter, and we have chosen to emphasize the valuation-theoretic approach. In this chapter, we begin to learn the language.

      1-1.Valuations and Prime Divisors

      Let us begin with a definition. A valuation of the field F is a function φ from F into the nonnegative reals such that

      (iii) There exists a real constant C such that

      Some obvious examples of valuations are the following: (1) Let F denote the field of real numbers R or the field of complex numbers C, and put φ(a) = |a|, C = 2. It may be remarked that the original impetus for the study of valuations of an arbitrary field arose from this example —that is, as a generalization of the notion of absolute value. (2) Let F be any field, and put φ(0) = 0, φ(a) = 1 for a F. This is known as the trivial valuation of F.

      In view of the numerous examples that will be considered later, let us be content for the moment with the simple examples above. The impatient reader may turn to Section 1-4.

      A valuation determines a homomorphism of F*, the multiplicative group of F, and φ(b/a) = φ(b)/(φ(a) for a ≠ 0. Also, since φ(1) = φ(− l)φ(− 1), it follows that φ(−l) = 1 and φ(−a) = φ(−1)φ(a) = φ(a). It is also immediate that if ζ is any root of unity belonging to F then φ(ζ) = 1 and that a finite field admits only the trivial valuation.

      1-1-1. Proposition.In the definition of a valuation, (iii) may be replaced by

      Proof. (iii) ⇒ (iii′). Suppose φ(a) = max {φ(a), φ(b)}. If φ(a) = 0 then a = b = 0 and (iii′) holds. If φ(a) ≠ 0, then

      (iii′) ⇒ (iii). If φ(a) ≤ 1, then

      In the more usual definition of valuation, condition (iii) is replaced by the so-called triangle inequality

      We shall soon see that, for all practical purposes, our valuations may be taken to satisfy the triangle inequality.

      1-1-2. Proposition.A valuation φ of F determines a Hausdorff topology Tφ on F. For each a F, a fundamental system of neighborhoods of a is given by the set of all

      Proof. Let Δ denote the diagonal of F × F, and for subsets S and T of F × F let

      For each ε > 0 we put

      From the properties of φ, we have

      In fact, (1), (2), and (3) are trivial; (5) is clear since φ(a − ba = b; finally, the assertion that (a, b) belongs to the left side of (4) means that there exists c F with φ(a − c) < ε/C and φ(c − b) < ε/C, so that φ(a − b) < ε and (4) holds.

      is a filter base on F × F. This filter base defines a uniform structure on F, and according to (5) the uniform structure is separated. Therefore, the topology of F deduced from the uniform structure in the canonical way has fundamental neighborhoods as described and is a Hausdorff topology. There is no particular significance attached to the method by which we have arrived at the topology of F. It is based on facts and notation as found in N. Bourbaki’s Topologie Générale (Hermann & Cie, Paris, 1940).

      1-1-3. Corollary.Let φ be a valuation of F, and let {xn} be a sequence in F; then

      We say that two valuations φ1 and φ2 are equivalent (and ) when they determine the same topology on F—that is, if and only if Tφ1 = Tφ2. The equivalence classes with respect to this equivalence relation are called prime divisors of F and are denoted by P, Q, etc. The prime divisor to which the trivial valuation of F belongs is called the trivial prime divisor; all the others are nontrivial prime divisors.

      Let φ be a valuation of F with constant C, and let α > 0 be a real number; then the function φα on F given by φα(a) = [φ(a)]α is a valuation of F with constant Cα.

      1-1-4. Theorem.Let φ1, φ2 be nontrivial valuations of F, and let a denote an arbitrary element of F; then the following statements are

      Proof. (1) ⇒ (2). For i = 1, 2 we write

      , so that

      Thus the uniform structures are equivalent, and the topologies are the same—that is, Tφ1 = Tφ2.

      (2) ⇒ (3). This is trivial since Tφ1 stronger than Tφ2 means that every open set for the topology Tφ2 is also open for the topology Tφ1.

      (3) ⇒ (4). Making use of (1-1-3), we have

      (4) ⇒ (5). Since φ1 is nontrivial, there exists b F* such that φ1(b) ≠ 1, and we may then take φ1(b) < 1. Consequently,

      In the same way, φ2(a−l) ≤ 1, and we conclude that φ2(a) = 1.

      (5) ⇒ (6). Since φ2 is nontrivial, there exists c F* such that 0 < φ2(c) < 1, and then

      Thus (4) holds, and as in the proof that (4) ⇒ (5) we have

      Of course,

      . The validity of (6) is now clear.

      (6) ⇒ (1). Fix a F such that φ1(a) > 1. Then φ2(a) > 1, and we may put

      for this it suffices to show that if for each b F* we write

      . Let r = m/n with n > 0 denote a rational number; then

      1-1-5. Corollary.Let P be a prime divisor of F; then for any φ P

      Proof. (1-1-4) takes care of the case where P is nontrivial. Since it is easy to see that the valuation φ of F is trivial if and only if Tφ is the discrete topology, it follows that a trivial prime divisor P consists solely of the trivial valuation; thus, the assertion holds in this case also.

      In order to clarify the connection between our valuations and those satisfying the triangle inequality, it is convenient to introduce a simple definition. Given a valuation φ, we define ||φ|| (the norm of φ) by ||φ|| = inf C, where C runs over all constants that may be used in (iii) of the definition of valuation. ||φ|| is the smallest possible value for C, and (1-1-1) applies with C = ||φ||. For any real number α > 0, it follows immediately that ||φα|| = ||α||α. In view of (1-1-5) we see that, given a prime divisor P of F, there exists φ P with ||φ|| ≤ 2. We may also note that, for any φ, ||φ|| ≥ 1; in fact, 1 = φ(1) = φ(l + 0) < ||φ||.

      1-1-6. Exercise.Suppose that φ is a valuation for which condition (iii) is replaced by the triangle inequality. Give an example to show that under such circumstances φα need not be a valuation (in the sense that it need not satisfy the triangle inequality).

      1-1-7. Lemma.Let φ be a valuation of F; then

      Proof. By (4-9-1) we have φ(a1 + a2) ≤ 2 max {φ(a1), φ(a2)}, and by induction

      For any n > 1 there exists a unique r , and then

      1-1-8. Proposition.Let φ be a real-valued function on F which satisfies conditions (i) and (ii) of the definition of valuation; then

      is a valuation and ||φ|| ≤ 2.

      Proof. ⇒: φ(a + b) ≤ φ(a) + φ(b) ≤ 2 max {φ(a), φ(b)}; so, by (4-9-1), φ is a valuation, and ||φ|| ≤ 2.

      ⇐: For each n > 1, we have

      Taking nth roots and letting n → ∞, we arrive at the desired conclusion.

      1-1-9. Theorem.Let P be a prime divisor of F, and let φ P have ||φ|| ≤ 2. Then Tφ is a metric topology with respect to which F is a topological field and φ is uniformly continuous.

      Proof. For a, b F put d(a, b) = φ(a − b, it is immediate that d is a metric on F. In the metric topology Td determined by d, a fundamental system of neighborhoods of a F is given by

      Hence, Tφ = Td. We see from

      that

      Therefore, it follows that φ is uniformly continuous on F. It is now easy to verify that the maps (a, b) → a − b, (a, b) → ab, and b → b−1 are continuous; that is, F is a topological field with respect to Tφ.

      Henceforth, whenever we consider a valuation φ P, it is to be understood—unless explicit mention is made to the contrary—that ||φ|| ≤ 2. Of course, there will be no harm in writing Tp in place of Tφ.

      1-2.The Approximation Theorem

      Having determined the relations between equivalent nontrivial valuations in (4-9-1), we proceed now to a description of the connections between inequivalent nontrivial valuations.

      1-2-1. Lemma.Let φ1, … , φn be inequivalent nontrivial valuations of F; then there exists an element a F with

      Proof. By induction on n. Suppose n = 2; then by (4-9-1) there exist b, c F such that

      — so that a = b/c works. Suppose now that the lemma holds for n − 1. Choose b F such that

      and c F such that

      If φn(b) ≤ 1, then surely a = bmc, for sufficiently large m, will do. It remains to consider the case where φn(b) > 1.

      In general, if φ is any valuation, then

      and also

      Therefore, for sufficiently large m, a = [bm/(l + bm)]c satisfies the required conditions.

      1-2-2. Lemma.Let φl, … , φn be inequivalent nontrivial valuations of F; then given any ε > 0, there exists b F such that

      Proof. Choose a as in (1-2-1), and put b = am/(l + am) —with m to be determined. For i > 1,

      while, for i = 1,

      Hence, we need only take m sufficiently large.

      1-2-3. Approximation Theorem.Let φ1, … , φn be inequivalent nontrivial valuations of F, and let a1, … , an be elements of F. Given any ε > 0, there exists an element a F such that

      Proof. Let M = max {φi(aj)}, where i, j = 1, … , n. According to (1-2-2) there exist b1, … , bn F such that,

      Clearly [in virtue of (is an element of the desired type.

      The approximation theorem may also be expressed in the following way: Suppose P1, … , Pn are distinct nontrivial prime divisors of F; and for each i = 1, … , n let F(i) denote F with the topology determined by the prime divisor Pi. The set F . That F is the assertion of the approximation theorem. To put it still another way, the approximation theorem implies that any finite number of inequivalent nontrivial valuations of F are completely independent; however, we shall see in Section 1-4 that this need not be valid when the number of valuations is infinite.

      It is surprising perhaps that the validity of the approximation theorem in its full generality (i.e., as we have stated it) was not discovered until 1945.

      1-2-4. Exercise.For nontrivial inequivalent valuations φ1, … , φn the topology Tφ1 is not comparable with the topology generated by the Tφ1 (i = 2, … , n).

      1-3.Archimedean and Nonarchimedean Prime Divisors

      Let P be a prime divisor of F. We say that P is archimedean when ||φ|| > 1 for every φ P and that P is nonarchimedean when ||φ|| = 1 for every φ P. For a valuation φ of F it is only natural to call φ archimedean (nonarchimedean) when the prime divisor P to which it belongs is archimedean (nonarchimedean). Note that an archimedean valuation and a nonarchimedean one cannot be equivalent.

      It is clear that the trivial valuation is nonarchimedean and that the absolute value valuation of R or C is archimedean.

      The next result gives equivalent and more standard formulations of our definition.

      1-3-1. Proposition..Let φ be a valuation of F; then

      Proof. The first equivalence is immediate from (4-9-1) and the properties of ||φ||. As for the remaining implications, we have:

      ⇒: By induction,

      .

      for all n Z, and suppose φ(a) ≥ φ(b); then

      and letting n → ∞ gives φ(a + b) ≤ φ(a) = max {φ(a), φ(b)}.

      1-3-2. Corollary.The archimedean or nonarchimedean character of a valuation is completely determined by its action on the prime subfield. In particular, a field with characteristic p ≠ 0 can have only nonarchimedean prime divisors.

      We may now prove an elementary but extremely useful property of nonarchimedean valuations.

      1-3-3. Proposition.Let φ be a nonarchimedean valuation of F; then

      Proof. Suppose φ(a) < φ(b); then

      1-3-4. Corollary.Let φ be a nonarchimedean valuation of Fthen

      then

      is maximal for at least two of the ai.

      1-3-5. Exercise.Let φ1, … , φn be nontrivial inequivalent nonarchimedean valuations of Fthen

      i. There exists a F* such that

      ii. If εi > 0 is a value taken on by φi for i = 1, … , n, then there exists a F such that

      Suppose that P is a nonarchimedean prime divisor of F, and choose any φ P. Put

      From (, and U are independent of the choice of φ P.

      Using the properties of φ, we see that O is an integral domain with 1; it is called the valuation ring at P or the ring of integers at P. , where O−1 = {a−l|a O, a is a prime ideal in O; it is called the prime ideal at P. Clearly U is the (multiplicative) group of units of Oit is called the group of units at P. consists of all nonunits of Ois the unique maximal ideal of O, and the residue class ring Oand call it the residue class field at P. The canonical map

      will be denoted by ψ . This map is known as the residue class map at P or as the place at P. There are alternative versions of the development of tools for algebraic number theory in which the notions of valuation ring and place, rather than that of valuation, play a central role.

      For archimedean P, the objects O, U are not defined.

      In case P .

      Before going on to more significant examples, it is convenient to set up another way of looking at a nonarchimedean prime divisor P of F. We recall that for φ P . Let us put

      . All the properties of φ carry over to ν, and ν is called an exponential valuation of F because it is a function from

      F such that

      Clearly there is a 1-1 correspondence between the set of all non-archimedean valuations of F and the set of all exponential valuations of F. To carry the connection further, we say that the exponential valuations ν and ν′ are equivalent (and the corresponding valuations φ = e−ν and φ′ = e−ν′ are equivalent. Thus,

      . No confusion can arise if we write ν P when e−ν = φ P. Hence, if ν P, then P = {αν|α > 0}. In terms of an exponential valuation ν P we have

      Of course, O, and U are independent of the choice of ν P.

      Any ν P (the additive group of reals). The image ν(F*) is a subgroup of R+; it is called the value group of ν and is often written as G(ν). If also νPfor some α —an order isomorphism. It is well known that any subgroup of R+ is either discrete or dense in R+ and that a discrete subgroup is either trivial (consisting of {0} alone) or infinite cyclic (generated by the smallest positive element that it contains). The prime divisor P is said to be discrete or nondiscrete according is discrete or nondiscrete in R+; naturally, this does not depend on the choice of ν P.

      Suppose that P is a discrete prime divisor of F. If, for some ν P, G(ν) = ν(F*) = {0}, then φ = e−ν is the trivial valuation, so that P is the trivial prime divisor. On the other hand, if P is discrete and nontrivial, then there exists in P a unique exponential valuation, which we shall invariably denote by νp. νp is then known as the normalized exponential valuation belonging to P. In such a situation we have

      1-4.The Prime Divisors of Q

      In this section, we determine all the nontrivial prime divisors of the rational field Q. In particular, we shall give many concrete examples of valuations and related objects.

      First of all, the ordinary absolute value function, which we write as φ∞ [that is, φ∞(a) = |a| for a Q], is a valuation. The prime divisor which it determines is archimedean and will be denoted by oo. It will usually be called the infinite prime of Q, and φ∞ will be known as the normed infinite valuation.

      To construct nonarchimedean valuations of Q, we make use of a procedure which applies to any field F which is the quotient field of a unique factorization domain. Let p Z be any prime number. Since Z is a unique factorization domain, every element of its quotient field Q can be expressed uniquely as a product of primes from Z—where, of course, negative exponents may appear. We define a function

      by putting for a Q*

      Thus

      and p runs over all primes of Z. Since all the primes p Z are taken to be > 0, ε is +1 or −1 according as a is > 0 or < 0. If we also put νpis an exponential valuation. The prime divisor to which νp belongs will be denoted simply by p. Clearly p is nonarchimedean—in fact it is a discrete nontrivial prime divisor of Q—and νp is the normalized exponential valuation belonging to p. Note that an element of Q is near 0 (for p) when it is divisible by a high power of p.

      From is a nonarchimedean valuation belonging to p; however, for reasons which will appear soon, we define a function φp by

      In other words, φp = φα, where α = loge p is a valuation belonging to p—it is called the normed, or normalized, p-adic valuation. If p and q are distinct primes of Z, then the prime divisors p and q are distinct; this follows from (4-9-1) and the fact that φP = 1/p ≤ 1, while φq(p) = 1.

      For each prime p, we have O, and U defined. From their description (as given in Section 1-3) one sees easily that

      .

      1-4-1. Exercise.Show that the residue class field of Q at the prime p is a field with p elements which may be written as

      1-4-2. Theorem.denote the set of all nontrivial prime divisors of Q; then

      For each prime divisor p , let φp be the normed valuation belonging to p; then for each a Q we have

      Proof. Before proceeding to the details of the proof, let us remark that the assertion of (i) and (ii) is usually stated in the form: The product formula holds in Q. It is the product formula which accounts for the way the normed valuations were selected. The fact that the product formula can be carried over to arbitrary algebraic number fields may be used as the central theme in the proof of some of the most important theorems of algebraic number theory; this will be done in Chapter 5.

      Coming back to the proof, let P be any nontrivial prime divisor of Q, and choose φ P with ||φ|| ≤ 2. Since Q is the quotient field of Z, it suffices to determine φ on Zfor some α on Q.

      If P is nonarchimedean, then ||φ|| = 1 and φ(n) ≤ 1 for all n Z. Consider

      We have I ≠ (0) because φ is nontrivial, and I ≠ Z because φ(l) = 1. Moreover, I is a prime ideal of Z and is therefore generated by a prime p. For any n Z with (n′, p, we have φ(nwhere 0 < (φ(p) < 1. Therefore, φ(p) = (l/p)α for some α > 0, and then φ(n) = φp(n)α for all n Z.

      Suppose then that P is archimedean. Fix any integers m and n both > 1. For any integer t > 0 we can write

      . Since a, ≥ 1, we have n* ≤ mt and s ≤ t(log m/log n, it follows that

      Taking ith roots and letting t → ∞ yields

      We assert that φ(n) > 1 for every n > 1; for if there exists n0 > 1 with φ(no) ≤ 1, then from the above relation φ(m) ≤ 1 for all m Z, which contradicts the archimedean character of φ, and because the assumptions are symmetric in m and n, it follows that

      for some α > 0 and all m, n > 1. Consequently, φ(n) = nα for n > 1, and then, for any n , and thus complete the proof of the first part of the theorem.

      for almost all p. Finally, we note that it suffices to verify the

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