Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge / 2003 / iii / Paper 23 / 1

Let ${\zeta }_n$ be a primitive nth root of unity. The cyclotomic polynomial isInduction on $n$ shows that ${\Phi }_n$ is monic with integer coefficients. Here is the essential irreducibility of cyclotomic polynomials argument. Let $f$ be the minimal polynomial of ${\zeta }_n$ and let $\ell \nmid n$ be a prime. If ${\zeta }_n^{\ell }$ had a different monic irreducible polynomial $g$, then $f\mid g(X^{\ell })$. Reducing modulo $\ell$ gives $\bar{f}\mid {\bar{g}}^{\ell }$, so $\bar{f}$ and $\bar{g}$ have a common factor. As $fg\mid {\Phi }_n$, this would give a repeated factor of $X^n-1$ modulo $\ell$, impossible because its derivative is $n{X}^{n-1}$. Thus ${\zeta }_n^{\ell }$ is conjugate to ${\zeta }_n$. Every positive integer prime to $n$ is a product of such primes, so all primitive nth roots of unity are conjugate. ConsequentlyIn particular the cyclotomic field is an abelian extension. Complex conjugation corresponds to $-1$; for $n>2$ its fixed field is $\mathbb{Q}({\zeta }_n+{\zeta }_n^{-1})$, the maximal real subfield, of degree $\phi (n)/2$.

The ring of integers is $\mathbb{Z}[{\zeta }_n]$. One way to see that there is no missing index is to work at each prime $p$. Write $n=p^{a}m$ with $p\nmid m$. The prime-to-$p$ roots of unity have separable reduction; their local factors generate unramified extensions with full integer rings. Over each such factor, adjoining ${\zeta }_{p^a}$ is generated by the Eisenstein polynomial ${\Phi }_{p^a}(1+T)$, with uniformizer ${\zeta }_{p^a}-1$, and hence gives the full integer ring of that totally ramified factor. The coprimality of $p^a$ and $m$ means that ${\zeta }_n$ generates both sets of roots of unity. Thus ${\mathbb{Z}}_p[{\zeta }_n]$ is maximal at every $p$, proving the integral assertion.

The same local description computes ramification and splitting. For $p\nmid n$, the ramification index is one, the residue degree is the multiplicative order of $p$ modulo $n$, and there are $\phi (n)/f$ primes above $p$. If $p\mid n$, put $m=n/p^a$; thenwhere ${\mathrm{ord}}_1(p)=1$. Indeed, the prime-to-$p$ part is unramified, and the $p$-power part is totally ramified by the preceding Eisenstein polynomial. Notice the exception $p=2,a=1$: its ramification index is one, consistently with $\mathbb{Q}({\zeta }_{2m})=\mathbb{Q}({\zeta }_m)$ for odd $m$. Thus finite ramification occurs only at the indicated conductor primes, with that exception.

We now prove cyclotomic Artin reciprocity over the rational numbers, using arithmetic Frobenius automorphisms. If $\ell \nmid n$ and $\mathfrak{L}$ lies over $\ell$, then Frobenius sends the reduction of ${\zeta }_n$ to its $\ell$th power. Distinct nth roots of unity remain distinct modulo $\mathfrak{L}$, since $X^n-1$ has separable reduction. Hence the Artin symbol is exactlyExtend multiplicatively to the group $I(n)$ of rational fractional ideals prime to $n$. Such an ideal has a unique positive rational generator $q$ whose numerator and denominator are prime to $n$. The formula isEvery unit residue modulo $n$ has a positive integer representative prime to $n$, so this Artin map is surjective. Its kernel is precisely the subgroup $P_{n\infty }$ generated by positive $q\equiv 1(\mathrm{mod}n)$. ThereforeThis proves the Artin reciprocity law for this extension, including its principal-ray kernel. The infinite component of the modulus records positivity and therefore the possible action of complex conjugation.

The Kronecker–Weber theorem says that every finite abelian extension of $\mathbb{Q}$ is contained in a cyclotomic field. We prove its quadratic case by identifying the ramification that a quadratic number field must have.

For an odd prime $\ell$, the cyclic Galois group of $\mathbb{Q}({\zeta }_{\ell })/\mathbb{Q}$ has exactly one subgroup of index two. Its fixed field $F_{\ell }$ is quadratic and is unramified at every finite prime other than $\ell$. For a squarefree integer $d$, the discriminant of $\mathbb{Q}(\sqrt{d})$ is $d$ if $d\equiv 1(\mathrm{mod}4)$, and $4d$ otherwise. A nontrivial quadratic discriminant supported on the odd prime $\ell$ must therefore beIndeed $d=\pm 1$ cannot give a nontrivial extension unramified at two, whereas exactly one of $\ell ,-\ell$ is congruent to one modulo four. ThusThis identifies the quadratic subfield of a prime cyclotomic field using ramification, without a Gaussian-sum computation.

Now let $F=\mathbb{Q}(\sqrt{d})$ with $d$ squarefree. Multiply $d$ by ${\prod }_{\ell \mid d,\ell \text{ odd}}{\ell }^{\ast }$. Every odd prime then occurs with even exponent, so its square class is represented by one of $1,-1,2,-2$. Thus adjoining the square roots of the ${\ell }^{\ast }$ removes all possible odd-prime ramification; the remaining quadratic factor is contained inThe original $\sqrt{d}$ is a rational multiple of a product of these square roots. It belongs to the compositum of $\mathbb{Q}({\zeta }_8)$ and the prime cyclotomic fields just used. This compositum is itself contained in a cyclotomic field, proving the theorem for $F$.

The sharper conductor statement follows from the same ramification calculation. For the fundamental discriminant $D$ of $F$, putThe possibilities for $D_2$ follow immediately from the quadratic discriminant formula. The corresponding fields are trivial, $\mathbb{Q}(i)$, $\mathbb{Q}(\sqrt{2})$ and $\mathbb{Q}(\sqrt{-2})$, lying in the cyclotomic fields of conductors $1,4,8,8$. Their conductors are coprime to the odd primes in the product. Hence quadratic Kronecker–Weber theorem by ramification gives the explicit conclusion