 Solution

The coefficient ring $I$ is complete for its $p$-adic norm, with uniformizer $p$ and residue field ${\overline{\mathbb{F}}}_p$. Its residue field is infinite, so $I$ is not compact. The measure construction uses completeness, not compactness of the coefficient ring.

An $I$-valued p-adic measure on $G$ is a bounded $I$-linear functionalon the continuous functions with the uniform norm. Equivalently it assigns a value $\mu (C)\in I$ to each clopen subset, finitely additively on disjoint unions. Integration of a locally constant function is defined byRefining finite clopen partitions shows that this is independent of the expression. Since every $\mu (C_j)\in I$, the nonarchimedean triangle inequality gives $|\int fd\mu {|}_p\le \Vert f{\Vert }_{\infty }$.

Locally constant functions are uniformly dense in $C(G,I)$. Indeed, for every $n$, continuity and compactness of $G$ supply a finite clopen partition on which $f$ is constant modulo $p^{n}I$; choose one value of $f$ on each part. These approximations converge uniformly, and completeness of $I$ extends integration uniquely. Conversely, a bounded functional gives $\mu (C)=\mu (1_C)$ and finite additivity. This proves the equivalence of the two definitions. Ordinary countable additivity of real measures is not part of the definition.

Define the Iwasawa algebra bywhere $U$ runs over open subgroups. Since $G$ is an abelian profinite group, every such quotient is a finite abelian group. The transition map for $V\subseteq U$ sends a basis element $[gV]$ to $[gU]$, so sums coefficients over the fibers.

A p-adic measure defines an element of this inverse limit byFinite additivity is precisely compatibility under the transition maps. Conversely, compatible coefficients define values on every coset and hence on every clopen subset: any clopen subset is a union of cosets of one open subgroup, by compactness and a finite common refinement. Compatibility makes the resulting value independent of that subgroup. The preceding integration argument then constructs the p-adic measure.

Finally, multiplication is convolution of p-adic measures. On a finite quotient its coefficients areThis is exactly the coefficient of $[gU]$ in ${\mu }_U{\nu }_U$. Equivalently,first for locally constant $h$, then by uniform approximation. The Dirac measure at the identity corresponds to the identity element of the group algebra. We have proved a bijection respecting addition, scalar multiplication and multiplication: