Solution

ID: past-exam-of-the-mathematics-course-of-the-university-of-cambridge/2023/ii/paper-3/18i/e/solution

Let . We use the standard cyclotomic containment lemma: every root of unity in has order dividing . One proof uses the conductor of a rational cyclotomic field. The conductor attached to a primitive th root is , except that it is when ; containment in forces this conductor to divide , which gives .
If is even, , and the powers of already give all possible roots of unity in . If is odd, has order , so contains all th roots of unity, and the containment lemma shows there are no others. Thus the roots of unity in a rational cyclotomic field number

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