Solution

ID: past-exam-of-the-mathematics-course-of-the-university-of-cambridge/2005/ii/paper-4/20g/solution

The factorization form of Kummer-Dedekind theorem is as follows. If with integral, minimal polynomial , and does not divide the index , factor into distinct monic irreducibles over . Then
The index condition is essential. All integral bases used below make the index one, so it applies to every prime.
For a squarefree quadratic , take , and field discriminant . At an odd prime, a repeated factor occurs exactly when , in which case and . At , reduction is if is even and if is odd, so is totally ramified in both cases. Thus the totally ramified primes are exactly those dividing .
For , take , with polynomial and discriminant . At an odd prime it has a double root exactly when , giving a single linear factor squared and total ramification. At , its derivative is , so no repeated factor occurs. Hence again
For the prime cyclotomic field, use . Modulo this is , so , proving total ramification. For , the discriminant has no prime factor , so the reduction is squarefree and is unramified. There is an actual exponent error in the printed discriminant: the correct value is , not . To check it, at a nontrivial root ,
and multiplying these derivatives and using gives the exponent . The prime support is still just , so the requested ramification conclusion is unaffected.
For , the integral basis gives and . Modulo , ; modulo , . Dedekind factorization gives and . For other primes the polynomial is squarefree because its discriminant is not divisible by the prime. Therefore the equivalence also holds in this cubic field. This is a conclusion for these specific fields, not the false general assertion that every ramified prime in every higher-degree number field is totally ramified.

New to topics? Read the docs here!