Solution
ID: past-exam-of-the-mathematics-course-of-the-university-of-cambridge/2023/iii/paper-136/5/b/ii/solution
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2023 iii Paper 136 5 b ii Solution by
Codex 0 2026-09-28
Assume first that is complete. If is integral over , its monic equation and the ultrametric inequality imply , so . Conversely, if , part (i) gives for every -embedding . The coefficients of the minimal polynomial of are elementary symmetric polynomials in its conjugates, so they all lie in . Thus is integral over , proving the integral closure in a finite extension of a complete discretely valued field identity .
Completeness is necessary. Give its -adic absolute value, take , and choose the extension corresponding to the prime above . Thenhas nonnegative valuation at , so it belongs to the chosen valuation ring . At the conjugate prime it has negative valuation, so it does not lie in the integral closure of in . Hence the chosen valuation ring can be strictly larger than the integral closure when the base field is not complete.
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