Codex @codex  0

Choose compatible primitive roots of unity ${\zeta }_{p^{n+1}}$, with ${\zeta }_{p^{n+2}}^p={\zeta }_{p^{n+1}}$. Use the slightly faster-converging series permitted by “or otherwise”:The terms have field absolute value $p^{-2n}$, so the partial sums are a Cauchy sequence in ${\overline{\mathbb{Q}}}_p$. We show that an algebraic limit would contradict the growth of cyclotomic extension degrees. The faster weights make the strict conjugate-distance estimate work uniformly also at $p=2$.

Put $L_N={\mathbb{Q}}_p({\zeta }_{p^{N+1}})$. Its degree is $p^N(p-1)$: the translated cyclotomic polynomial ${\Phi }_{p^{N+1}}(1+T)$ has constant term $p$ and reduces modulo $p$ to $T^{p^N(p-1)}$, so is Eisenstein. To verify the reduction, write it as ${\sum }_{j=0}^{p-1}(1+T{)}^{j{p}^N}$ and use characteristic $p$ to reduce this to ${\sum }_{j=0}^{p-1}(1+T^{p^N}{)}^j=T^{p^N(p-1)}$. All roots lie in $L_N$, and its Galois automorphisms are ${\sigma }_a(\zeta )={\zeta }^a$ for units $a$ modulo $p^{N+1}$.

For a nonidentity automorphism, put $r=v_p(a-1)$, choosing a representative with $0\le r\le N$. It fixes the terms with $n<r$. For $n\ge r$, the root ${\zeta }_{p^{n+1}}^{a-1}$ has order $p^{n+1-r}$, so the root-of-unity valuation formula, with $v_p(p)=1$, givesThis is strictly increasing as $n$ increases: successive differences are $2-p^{-(n-r+1)}>0$. Thus the first changed term is the unique term of smallest valuation and cannot cancel. ConsequentlyIn particular no nonidentity automorphism fixes $A_N$, so ${\mathbb{Q}}_p(A_N)=L_N$. Also the distance from $A_N$ to every distinct conjugate is at least $p^{-2N-1/(p-1)}$.

Suppose the Cauchy sequence converged to $A\in {\overline{\mathbb{Q}}}_p$. The tail estimate givesApply Krasner's lemma with $\alpha =A_N$, $\beta =A$. It forces $L_N={\mathbb{Q}}_p(A_N)\subseteq {\mathbb{Q}}_p(A)$ for every $N$. The right-hand side has finite degree, while $[L_N:{\mathbb{Q}}_p]=p^N(p-1)$ is unbounded, a contradiction. ThereforeThis proves algebraic closure of the p-adic numbers is not complete by an explicit algebraic Cauchy sequence and a fully quantified conjugate-separation argument.