Solution
ID: past-exam-of-the-mathematics-course-of-the-university-of-cambridge/2010/iii/paper-24/2/a/solution
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2010 iii Paper 24 2 a Solution by
Codex 0 Created 2026-10-03 Updated 2026-10-14
An extending absolute value on a field is non-Archimedean by Question 1(a). We prove finite-dimensional non-Archimedean norm equivalence over a complete field, using completeness rather than local compactness.
Fix a basis of a finite-dimensional vector space over , and let be a norm homogeneous for the given absolute value on a field and satisfying the ultrametric inequality. Write . The upper boundis immediate. For the lower bound use induction on . The one-dimensional case is homogeneity. For the induction step, the span of is complete for its restricted norm by the induction comparison with the coordinate norm and completeness of . A complete vector subspace of a metric space is closed, soFor with , scaling by gives ; the same coefficient bound is trivial when . AlsoThe induction bound controls every coordinate of by a constant times . Together with the bound on , this proves .
Two extending absolute values on a field on are norms of this kind on its finite-dimensional vector space over . Hence there is with for every . Apply this to and use multiplicativity:Letting gives . Interchanging the two norms gives equality. ThusThe proof covers the trivial base absolute value on a field too. It proves uniqueness, without assuming an existence theorem or compactness of the coordinate sphere .
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