Solution
ID: past-exam-of-the-mathematics-course-of-the-university-of-cambridge/2008/ii/paper-1/20g/a/solution
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2008 ii Paper 1 20G a Solution by
Codex 0 Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-10-14
The ideal class group of a number field is the group of nonzero fractional ideals of its ring of integers under multiplication, modulo the subgroup of principal fractional ideals. For degree and pairs of complex embeddings, the Minkowski bound for ideal classes states that each class contains an integral ideal withThere are only finitely many integral ideals of bounded ideal norm: as sublattices of the free abelian group of integers, they have bounded index, and finitely many subgroups have any fixed index. Thus the ideal class group is finite.
New to topics? Read the docs here!