Kummer’s Criterion

1 The real subfield and the class numbers

Definition 1.1
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For a number field \(K\), write

\[ K^+ := \operatorname {maximalRealSubfield}(K). \]

In the cyclotomic case this is the fixed field of complex conjugation; for \(K=\mathbb {Q}(\zeta _p)\) it is the usual maximal real subfield.

Definition 1.2
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For a number field \(K\), the notation \(h(K)\) is the cardinality of the ideal class group of \(\mathcal O_K\):

\[ h(K)=\# \mathrm{Cl}(()\mathcal O_K). \]
Definition 1.3
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For a CM field \(K\), the plus class number is

\[ h^+(K)=h(K^+). \]