 Solution

For the finite separable field extension define the inverse different, or codifferent, byIt is a fractional ideal of ${\mathcal{O}}_L$. The different ideal is its inverse fractional ideal.

Suppose the integer ring is generated by $\alpha$, with monic minimal polynomial of an algebraic element $g$ of degree $d$. We prove the derivative formula using the coefficient pairing for a monogenic algebra. If ${\alpha }_1,\dots ,{\alpha }_d$ are its distinct conjugate polynomial roots, Lagrange interpolation for a polynomial $h$ of degree less than $d$ givesComparing coefficients of $T^{d-1}$ yieldsFor any integral polynomial, first reduce modulo $g$; the coefficients stay integral because $g$ is monic over ${\mathcal{O}}_K$.

It follows that $g^{\prime }(\alpha {)}^{-1}{\mathcal{O}}_L$ lies in the codifferent. To prove equality, consider the matrixAll entries are integral. Entries with $i+j<d-1$ are zero, and those with $i+j=d-1$ are one. Reversing the column order makes the matrix triangular with diagonal ones; thus its determinant is a unit of ${\mathcal{O}}_K$.

Write an arbitrary $x\in L$ as $x=g^{\prime }(\alpha {)}^{-1}{\sum }_j{b}_j{\alpha }^j$ with $b_j\in K$. Membership in the codifferent says $A(b_j{)}_j\in {\mathcal{O}}_K^d$. Since $A$ is invertible over ${\mathcal{O}}_K$, this forces every $b_j$ integral. ThereforeSeparability ensures that $g^{\prime }(\alpha )\ne 0$; the trace pairing calculation also proves that no extra factor has been overlooked.