Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge / 2015 / iii / Paper 26 / 3

The valuation ring and local compactness. The opening, unlettered requests useThe ultrametric inequality makes ${\mathcal{O}}_K$ a valuation ring; its elements outside $\mathfrak{m}$ are exactly the units, so $\mathfrak{m}$ is its unique maximal ideal, and $k$ is the residue field.

Here the customary nontrivial-valuation hypothesis for a local field is necessary. With the trivial absolute value, any infinite field is discrete and locally compact, but its residue field is infinite and there is no nonzero uniformizer. We use the nontrivial valuation in the conclusions below.

Local compactness first gives a compact neighborhood of zero. Choose a sufficiently small nonzero $t$ so that the closed set $t{\mathcal{O}}_K$ is contained in that compact neighborhood. Then $t{\mathcal{O}}_K$, and hence ${\mathcal{O}}_K$, is compact. Since $\mathfrak{m}$ is open, its cosets give a discrete compact quotient $k$, which must be finite. Write $|k|=q$. The subgroup $\mathfrak{m}$ now has finite index and is closed in ${\mathcal{O}}_K$, hence compact. The continuous function $|\cdot |$ attains on $\mathfrak{m}$ a maximum $c$ with $0<c<1$. Choose $\pi$ with $|\pi |=c$. Every $x\in \mathfrak{m}$ has $|x/\pi |\le 1$, soSuccessive division by $\pi$ shows that every nonzero element of ${\mathcal{O}}_K$ is a unit times a power of $\pi$: division must terminate because $|\pi {|}^j\to 0$. Thus the value group is discrete. A Cauchy sequence eventually lies in a translate of the compact ring ${\mathcal{O}}_K$, has a convergent subsequence, and consequently converges itself. These arguments prove the discrete valuation from nontrivial local compactness and the completeness of locally compact nontrivially valued fields.

The iterated-power limit. Normalize the discrete valuation by $v(\pi )=1$, and write $q={\ell }^f$, where $\ell$ is the residue characteristic. For $u\in 1+{\pi }^s{\mathcal{O}}_K$ with $s\ge 1$, the binomial theorem givesThe linear term gains a factor $q\in \mathfrak{m}$ (or is zero in positive characteristic), while all terms of degree at least two have valuation at least $2s\ge s+1$.

For $a\in {\mathcal{O}}_K^{\times }$, reduction gives $a^{q-1}\in 1+\mathfrak{m}$, because $k^{\times }$ has order $q-1$. Iterating the inequality yieldsThe sequence is Cauchy and converges to a unit $\omega (a)$. Since the reduction of $a^{q^j}$ is always $\bar{a}$, its limit has the same residue. Taking limits after shifting the sequence gives $\omega (a{)}^q=\omega (a)$, whenceThis is the Teichmuller representative. The Hensel lemma applied to $T^{q-1}-1$, whose derivative is a unit at every nonzero residue, shows uniqueness for each residue. Consequently the prime-to-$\ell$ roots give a canonical splitting

Logarithms on sufficiently deep units. Suppose $\mathrm{char}K=0$, let $\ell$ be the residue characteristic, and put $e=v(\ell )$. For every integer $r>e/(\ell -1)$ the p-adic logarithm and p-adic exponential function, evaluated in $K$, converge on the required domains:The bounds $v(m!)=e{v}_{\ell }(m!)\le e(m-1)/(\ell -1)$ and $v(m)\le e(m-1)/(\ell -1)$ show that, for $x,y\in {\pi }^r{\mathcal{O}}_K$, every term beyond the linear one has valuation strictly greater than $v(x)$ or $v(y)$. The series therefore converge and preserve these lattices; in particular $\exp (y)\in 1+{\pi }^r{\mathcal{O}}_K$. Their formal composition and addition identities are valid by convergence, giving inverse continuous group homomorphismsThus the logarithm isomorphism on deep principal units isThe right-hand group is torsion-free.

Roots of unity in ${\mathbb{Q}}_p$. For odd $p$, take $\ell =p,e=1,r=1$. The principal unit group $1+p{\mathbb{Z}}_p$ is torsion-free by the logarithm isomorphism on deep principal units. The Teichmuller representative splitting leaves precisely the $p-1$ roots in ${\mu }_{p-1}$.

For $p=2$, take $r=2$. Each odd unit is uniquely $\pm u$ with $u\in 1+4{\mathbb{Z}}_2$, since its residue modulo four is either one or minus one. This latter group is torsion-free. ConsequentlyThis computes the roots of unity in the p-adic numbers.

The units of ${\mathbb{Q}}_2(i)$. Set $\pi =1-i$. Its polynomial $T^2-2T+2$ is Eisenstein, soThe Eisenstein polynomial facts justifying this are stated in the next solution. Write $U_s=1+{\pi }^s{\mathcal{O}}_K$. Reduction gives ${\mathcal{O}}_K^{\times }=U_1$, and the successive quotients of principal-unit groupshave order two for $s\ge 1$. Hence $[U_1:U_3]=4$. The four roots in ${\mu }_4=\{1,i,-1,-i\}$ have distinct images modulo $U_3$, sinceThey exhaust the quotient and intersect $U_3$ trivially. Since $r=3>2/(2-1)$, the logarithm isomorphism on deep principal units gives $U_3\cong ({\mathcal{O}}_K,+)$. Therefore the unit decomposition of the 2-adic Gaussian field isIn particular these four elements are all its roots of unity.

Quadratic extensions. A nonzero element of $K$ is uniquely a power of $\pi$ times a unit, so $K^{\times }\cong {\pi }^{\mathbb{Z}}\times {\mathcal{O}}_K^{\times }$. Squaring on the decomposition above acts as squaring on ${\mu }_4$ and multiplication by two on the additive ring ${\mathcal{O}}_K={\mathbb{Z}}_2\oplus {\mathbb{Z}}_{2}i$. Thus the square-class group of the 2-adic Gaussian field isBy quadratic extensions from square classes, in characteristic different from two the nontrivial square classes classify quadratic extensions $K(\sqrt{a})$: two such extensions are $K$-isomorphic exactly when $a/b$ is a square. There are therefore $\boxed{2^4-1=15}$ quadratic extensions up to $K$-isomorphism.