Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge / 2018 / iii / Paper 123 / 3

The only possible rational roots of the monic cubic are $1,-1$, and neither is a root. Thus $f$ is irreducible. The discriminant of a depressed cubic givesIt is not a rational square. By the permitted cubic discriminant criterion, the splitting field has Galois group $S_3$, degree six, and contains its quadratic subfield generated by $\sqrt{\Delta }$. Consequently

For a rational prime $r\ne 59$, the reduction of $f$ is separable because its discriminant is a unit at $r$. Choose a finite extension of ${\mathbb{F}}_r$ in which that reduction splits. Part 1(a) lifts it to an unramified extension of ${\mathbb{Q}}_r$, and the Hensel lemma lifts all the simple roots into that extension. The local splitting field is therefore unramified over ${\mathbb{Q}}_r$. In particular all primes of $L/K$ above such $r$ are unramified.

At $59$, the supplied simple residue root $-28$ lifts to a root in ${\mathbb{Q}}_{59}$. The remaining factor is quadratic, so the local splitting field has degree at most two over ${\mathbb{Q}}_{59}$. It contains $\sqrt{-59}$, which is not a square in ${\mathbb{Q}}_{59}$ because its valuation is odd. It is therefore exactly ${\mathbb{Q}}_{59}(\sqrt{-59})$. This is also the completion of $K$ at its unique prime above $59$: the polynomial $T^2+59$ is Eisenstein there. Thusfor a prime $\mathfrak{P}$ above $\mathfrak{p}$. All the other primes above it give the same local conclusion by Galois conjugacy. The relative extension is therefore unramified at $59$ as well; indeed that prime splits completely in $L/K$.

The field $K$ has only complex places, so there is no infinite-place ramification. Hence $\boxed{L/K\text{ is unramified everywhere}}$.

We use the Hilbert class field theorem: for a number field $E$, its maximal everywhere unramified abelian extension $H_E$ is finite, contains every such extension, and satisfies $\mathrm{Gal}(H_E/E)\cong {\mathrm{Cl}}_E$, so $[H_E:E]=h_E$. The cyclic degree-three extension just constructed is contained in $H_K$. ThereforeThis is the unramified cubic extension of Q of square root minus fifty-nine; only divisibility of the class number, rather than its exact value, is needed here.

Use the Hilbert class field theorem stated in part (a), and let $H_L$ be the Hilbert class field of $L$. Put $F=M\cap H_L$ inside a common algebraic closure.

Any intermediate extension of $M/L$ is totally ramified at the given prime. To verify this even when $M/L$ is not Galois, there is a unique prime of $F$ above $\mathfrak{p}$, its residue field embeds into the residue field at the unique prime of $M$ and therefore equals $k_{\mathfrak{p}}$, and the fundamental identity for prime decomposition gives ramification index $[F:L]$. On the other hand $F/L$ is a subextension of $H_L/L$, so it is unramified there. Its ramification index is consequently both $[F:L]$ and $1$, forcingBecause $H_L/L$ is Galois, this intersection identity givesThus $M{H}_L/M$ is abelian. We use the standard local fact that unramified extensions remain unramified under finite base extension: after base change each factor is obtained by lifting an extension of the residue field. Since $H_L/L$ is unramified at every finite prime, $M{H}_L/M$ is also unramified at every finite prime. There are no real places of $M$, since every embedding of $M$ restricts to an embedding of the totally imaginary field $L$. Hence there is no infinite-place obstruction.

The maximality of $H_M$ now implies $M{H}_L\subseteq H_M$. Taking degrees over $M$ proves the class number divisibility under total ramification:The argument uses the degree of an unramified class-field extension, and does not assume that extension of ideals induces an injection of ideal class groups.

We use the following standard facts about cyclotomic fields. For an odd prime $\ell$, the unique quadratic subfield of $\mathbb{Q}({\zeta }_{\ell })$ isAlso $\mathbb{Q}({\zeta }_{{\ell }^r})$ has degree $\phi ({\ell }^r)={\ell }^{r-1}(\ell -1)$, and $\ell$ is totally ramified, with a unique prime and residue field ${\mathbb{F}}_{\ell }$. These are the quadratic subfield of a prime cyclotomic field and total ramification in a prime-power cyclotomic field results.

TakeSince $59\equiv 3(\mathrm{mod}4)$, every $E_r$ contains $K=\mathbb{Q}(\sqrt{-59})$, through its subfield $E_1$. The unique prime above $59$ is totally ramified in $E_r/K$: the absolute ramification index is $58\cdot 59^{r-1}$, the index in $K/\mathbb{Q}$ is $2$, and the relative index is thereforeThe field $K$ has no real places. By part (b), $h_K\mid h_{E_r}$, and part (a) showed $3\mid h_K$. ThusThe ring of integers of a number field is a Dedekind domain, and is a principal ideal domain exactly when its ideal class group is trivial. Hence none of these rings of integers is principal. Finally the degrees $58\cdot 59^{r-1}$ strictly increase, so the fields are pairwise distinct. The explicit infinite family of nonprincipal cyclotomic fields of conductor a prime power is