Class number problem

For a squarefree integer d1d \neq 1 put K=Q(d)K=\mathbb{Q}(\sqrt{d}), let OK\mathcal{O}_K be the ring of integers of KK, and let

h(K)=#Cl(OK)h(K)=\#\mathrm{Cl}(\mathcal{O}_K)

be the order of the ideal class group of OK\mathcal{O}_K, i.e. the class number of KK. The discriminant of KK is D=dD=d if d1(mod4)d\equiv 1 \pmod 4 and D=4dD=4d otherwise; the integers DD arising in this way are called fundamental discriminants, and for such DD write h(D)=h(Q(D))h(D)=h(\mathbb{Q}(\sqrt{D})). More generally, for an arbitrary integer D<0D<0 with D0,1(mod4)D\equiv 0,1\pmod 4, let h(D)h(D) denote the number of SL2(Z)\mathrm{SL}_2(\mathbb{Z})-equivalence classes of primitive positive definite integral binary quadratic forms ax2+bxy+cy2ax^2+bxy+cy^2 with b24ac=Db^2-4ac=D.

The following hold.

  1. For every integer n1n\ge 1 the set
S(n)={D<0  :  D a fundamental discriminant, h(D)=n}S^-(n)=\{\, D<0 \;:\; D \text{ a fundamental discriminant},\ h(D)=n \,\}

is finite, and it is effectively determinable: there is an algorithm which, given nn, outputs a finite list of discriminants together with a proof that this list is exactly S(n)S^-(n). Equivalently, h(D)h(D)\to\infty as DD\to-\infty through negative fundamental discriminants, with an effective bound B(n)B(n) such that h(D)=nh(D)=n forces DB(n)|D|\le B(n).

  1. For every integer n1n\ge 1 the set of all integers D<0D<0 with D0,1(mod4)D\equiv 0,1\pmod 4 (not necessarily fundamental) and h(D)=nh(D)=n is finite and likewise effectively determinable; in particular the set of even such DD with h(D)=nh(D)=n can be listed completely.

  2. The set

{D>0  :  D a fundamental discriminant, h(D)=1}\{\, D>0 \;:\; D \text{ a fundamental discriminant},\ h(D)=1 \,\}

is infinite; that is, there are infinitely many real quadratic fields Q(d)\mathbb{Q}(\sqrt{d}), d>1d>1 squarefree, with class number 11.

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Sources & referencesView supporting material

Primary source

Wikipedia

Additional references

  1. Wikipedia, Class number problem, the article this problem comes from.

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