Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2017 iii Paper 136 1 Solution Created 2026-10-03 Updated 2026-10-05
A suitable version of the Hensel lemma is this: if is a complete discrete valuation ring, , and is a root of with , there is a unique reducing to with . Starting with any lift, Newton iteration over a valued field keeps the derivative a unit and doubles the error valuation, giving convergence. Uniqueness follows by factoring when two roots have the same residue.
The field in the rest of this question is not assumed complete, so that version cannot simply be applied to it. Instead use the stated uniqueness of the extension of an absolute value. Let be any two roots of a polynomial , which is irreducible. The field embedding sending to identifies with . Pulling the latter field's absolute value back gives an extension on , which must coincide with the given one. More generally, for every ,This proves equal absolute values of algebraic conjugates without assuming separability or a transitive action of a Galois group; repeated roots cause no difficulty.
Every root of the monic has absolute value at most one. Indeed, if , then each lower term satisfies . The ultrametric inequality makes the leading term dominate their sum, contradicting . Thus
All roots lie in the valuation ring , so their residues are defined in the residue field . Let be the monic minimal polynomial of an algebraic element of ; this residue is algebraic because it satisfies the monic . Choose a coefficientwise lift . Then , and the conjugacy argument gives for every . Hence every is a root of .
Reduction of the splitting-field factorization, with multiplicities, givesEvery monic irreducible factor of over has a root among these residues. That root also satisfies , so its minimal polynomial is . Unique factorization therefore proves the pure-power reduction of a monic irreducible polynomial:This does not assert that is separable or that the reduction is square-free.
Finally, factor the monic over as with distinct monic irreducible polynomials . The same leading-term argument bounds every root of by one. Coefficients of any are elementary symmetric polynomials in some of these roots, so they lie in . By the preceding result each is a power of a single monic irreducible residue polynomial .
Since the prescribed are coprime, every occurs on exactly one side. Assign the entire factor to that side and form the two products. Comparing irreducible-factor multiplicities in the reduction proves the coprime factor lifting from valuation-extension uniqueness:Empty products are one, covering constant prescribed factors. The construction proves the required factor-lifting form of the Hensel lemma directly from extension uniqueness, without adding completeness as an unstated hypothesis.
Pure-power reduction of a monic irreducible polynomial Created 2026-10-05 Updated 2026-10-06
Suppose a Non-Archimedean absolute value extends uniquely to every finite extension. If is monic and irreducible, every root has absolute value at most one: otherwise its leading power dominates all lower terms, contradicting by the ultrametric inequality. In a splitting field, let be the minimal polynomial of an algebraic element of the residue of one root. Lift its coefficients to . The lift has absolute value less than one at that root and hence, by equal absolute values of algebraic conjugates, at every root. Consequently every root residue is a zero of . Since reduction preserves the product of the linear factors with multiplicities, every irreducible factor of is , proving the displayed identity for some .