Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2025 iii Paper 136 3 b Solution Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-09-24
Suppose first that with . Divide by and put , . Reduction modulo gives . Choose an integer ; then . A unit's th power modulo depends only on its residue modulo , because . Therefore
Conversely, suppose such an integer exists. The congruence saysFor odd , the th-power map sends onto : under the p-adic logarithm it becomes multiplication by . Hence the displayed ratio is for some . Takingproduces the required solution in .
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2026 iii Paper 136 3 a Solution Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-09-24
For sufficiently large , the convergent p-adic logarithm and p-adic exponential series are inverse homomorphismsTheir identities and follow first formally and then by convergence. Multiplication by identifies with . Since has finite index in , the conclusion follows.