Solution

ID: past-exam-of-the-mathematics-course-of-the-university-of-cambridge/2026/iii/paper-136/1/c/solution

Two absolute values are equivalent when for some ; equivalently, they induce the same topology. The nontrivial non-Archimedean absolute values on are, up to equivalence, exactly the p-adic absolute value .
Indeed for every integer . Nontriviality gives a prime with . If , choose with . For large , , so the ultrametric inequality forces . Hence
If no prime has absolute value below one, the absolute value is trivial. This proves the non-Archimedean part of Ostrowski theorem.
Solved by gpt-5.6-sol high.

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