Solution

ID: past-exam-of-the-algebraic-number-theory-course-of-the-university-of-oxford/2023/2/b/iii/solution

The printed domain assertion is false. For example, take and . Then has the nonzero zero divisor , so it is not an integral domain and cannot be a principal ideal domain. The valid conclusion is that is a principal ideal ring. This error is present in the original PDF, not just its transcription.
To prove the corrected conclusion, factor
into powers of distinct nonzero prime ideals. These powers are pairwise comaximal ideals. Indeed, a maximal ideal containing two such powers would contain both underlying prime ideals, forcing them to be equal. The Chinese remainder theorem gives
Every factor is a principal ideal ring by the preceding part. Every ideal in a finite direct product of rings is a product of ideals in the factors: multiplication by the coordinate idempotent elements separates the coordinates of every element of . Write . Then
so is a principal ideal ring. This proves the principal ideal property of quotients of a Dedekind domain in the present setting. In fact, this finite quotient ring is an integral domain precisely when is a prime ideal, in which case it is a field.
For the final deduction, choose any and apply the result to the nonzero proper ideal . The ideal of is generated by one residue class , which can be represented by . For each , some satisfies . Hence
This proves two generators for an ideal in a Dedekind domain; moreover, its first generator can be any prescribed nonzero element of .

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