For a negative fundamental discriminant , primitive positive definite integral binary quadratic forms of discriminant , modulo proper equivalence, correspond bijectively to the ideal class group of . The displayed ideal gives one conventional choice of this correspondence. Reduced positive definite binary quadratic forms give unique class representatives with the usual boundary sign convention, making class-number computations finite.
A reduced positive definite binary quadratic form satisfies , with when or . These inequalities select representatives under proper equivalence of binary quadratic forms; the changes of variables have integer entries and determinant .
For the first binary quadratic form, put , . For the second, put , . Both changes preserve coprime integers, and give
Proper representation means using . For , gives a value greater than , while forces . For , the smallest values are and . For , again gives only primitively; gives , and gives at least . Thus the three smallest properly represented values are
For example the original variables can be chosen as for , and for .
Every positive definite binary quadratic form can be reduced: integer shears first make , and interchanging the variables when decreases the positive leading coefficient, so this procedure terminates. To enumerate the reduced forms of discriminant minus forty-four, reduction gives , hence . Checking with the reduced inequalities gives exactly
The second represents only even integers. The last two have the same represented values, by . The first and third are the reduced versions of and . Therefore every represented odd integer occurs in at least one of , whether or not its original representation was primitive.
Let . Its ring of integers of a quadratic field is , and its fundamental field discriminant is .
First compute the class number. The ideal-form correspondence for imaginary quadratic fields identifies the ideal classes with proper equivalence classes of primitive positive definite binary quadratic forms of discriminant . Each has a unique reduced positive definite binary quadratic form representative under the convention , with when or . From we get . Checking these three possible leading coefficients gives exactly
For , neither odd residue choice makes integral. The listed forms are primitive and satisfy the reduction convention, so
This computes the ideal class group of Q of square root minus thirty-one.
Now take a root of , and let be its splitting field over . There is no rational root: the only candidates are , and neither vanishes. Thus the cubic is irreducible. Its polynomial discriminant is
Since this is nonsquare, the Galois group of an irreducible cubic is . Its quadratic subfield is : the product of pairwise root differences squares to and changes sign under odd permutations. Thus is cyclic of degree three, and . Indeed the cubic field and have coprime degrees, so their compositum already has the full splitting-field degree six. The squarefree polynomial discriminant also shows, by the discriminant-index formula for an integral lattice, that is the full integer ring of the cubic field.
It remains to prove that is unramified everywhere. At any rational prime , the reduction of is separable. Over a finite residue extension in which it splits, all residue roots are simple and lift by Hensel lemma to the corresponding unramified extension of . Therefore the local splitting field is unramified over , and its extension over a completion of is unramified as well.
At the only possible ramified prime, direct reduction gives
The simple root lifts to . Write , with monic quadratic over . The discriminant product formula gives
Here is a unit, so the quadratic discriminant has square class . Hence the entire local splitting field is
It is quadratic over , but its extension over the completion of is trivial. Thus the prime over splits completely in ; in particular it is not ramified there. This is the local splitting-field argument behind an unramified cyclic cubic extension from a prime-discriminant cubic. There are no real places of the imaginary quadratic field , so no infinite-place ramification remains to check.
The Hilbert class field theorem identifies the maximal everywhere unramified abelian extension with an extension of degree . Our cyclic unramified extension already has that degree, so it must be the whole Hilbert class field. Therefore
Equivalently, it is the splitting field of , of degree six over and degree three over . Replacing by gives the alternative defining cubic . This is the Hilbert class field of Q of square root minus thirty-one.
Write an integral binary quadratic form as , with discriminant of a binary quadratic form . If is prime, then : any common divisor would have its square dividing . Complete to a matrix in using Bezout identity. After the associated integral change of variables, the properly equivalent form has leading coefficient , say . Its discriminant of a binary quadratic form gives , hence .
Conversely suppose . Since is an integral-form discriminant of a binary quadratic form, or . Choose with even integer parity for and odd integer parity for . This is possible because is odd. Then is divisible by , and
is an integral form of discriminant of a binary quadratic form representing . This proves the discriminant criterion for prime representation by a binary quadratic form, including the case ; no assumption that is a fundamental discriminant was used.
Write an integral binary quadratic form as , with discriminant of a binary quadratic form . It is positive definite when and . Two forms are equivalent if one is obtained from the other by an integral linear change of variables whose matrix lies in . A positive definite form is reduced when
with when or .
To reduce a form, apply a unimodular shear with chosen so that the new middle coefficient has . If the new final coefficient is smaller than , exchange the variables, using a determinant-one rotation, so that the positive leading coefficient decreases from to . Repeating must stop because a positive integer cannot decrease indefinitely. At termination , and elementary sign changes impose the boundary convention. This is the reduction algorithm for a positive definite binary quadratic form, and proves that every positive definite form is equivalent to a reduced one.
The displayed forms have discriminant , so the intended discriminant is . For any reduced form of this discriminant, enumeration of reduced binary quadratic forms gives
The boundary convention and direct checking of leave only
Suppose first that a prime is represented by . The identity
shows modulo both and that is a nonzero square. Hence
Similarly,
Modulo , this says is a square, while modulo it says is a square. Since , the multiplicativity of the Legendre symbol gives
Conversely, suppose the two displayed Legendre symbols have the same sign. By quadratic reciprocity,
Choose an odd integer satisfying . Since is odd, is also divisible by , so
is a positive definite integral form of discriminant that represents . Reducing yields either or , and equivalence preserves represented integers. The necessary symbol calculation above determines which one: the positive pair selects , and the negative pair selects . Therefore
An integral positive definite binary quadratic form
is reduced when
with when or . Its discriminant is .
For , reduction gives , so or . Since , is even. If , then forces , and . If , then ; integrality of
leaves and , and the boundary convention retains only . Hence the complete list is
Now suppose the prime is represented by . If , the equation is impossible modulo four, so is odd. The integers and then have opposite parity, and therefore
Also , since otherwise ; hence
The Chinese remainder theorem gives the stronger conclusion
In particular,
as required.
Write an integral binary quadratic form as . It is positive definite when and its discriminant is negative. Two forms are properly equivalent when one is obtained from the other by a change of variables in . A reduced positive definite binary quadratic form satisfies
with when or .
To prove reduction, choose in a proper equivalence class a form whose positive leading coefficient is minimal. Replacing by changes by , so choose to arrange . If the resulting , the determinant-one substitution would put in the leading position, contradicting minimality. Thus . Sign changes on the boundary give the stated convention. Hence every positive definite form is properly equivalent to a reduced one.
A unimodular integral substitution is a bijection of , so properly equivalent forms represent exactly the same integers.
Both given forms have discriminant . Reduction gives
The two reduced forms represent the same integers because
an integral change of variables of determinant . They are not properly equivalent: the uniqueness theorem for reduced positive definite forms says that each proper class has one reduced representative, and . Therefore the original forms represent the same integers but are not equivalent in the required proper sense.