English

An upper bound for the size of the ideal class monoid

Number Theory 2025-09-29 v1

Abstract

The ideal class monoid for an order RR in a finite field extension E/FE/F of a number field, denoted by Cl(R)\overline{\mathrm{Cl}}(R), is a fundamental object to study in number theory which has useful applications in algebraic geometry and topology. In this paper, we describe an upper bound for #Cl(R)\#\overline{\mathrm{Cl}}(R), in terms of the class number of EE and (local) orbital integrals for gln\mathfrak{gl}_n. We also describe an upper bound for the class number of EE in terms of the Minkowski bound. When [E:F]3[E:F]\leq 3 or when RR is a Bass order, we refine our upper bound, using a known formula for local orbital integrals in the authors' previous work. In particular, if R=Z[x]/(x3mx2+(m1)x1)R=\mathbb{Z}[x]/(x^3-mx^2+(m-1)x-1) with mZm\in \mathbb{Z} which arises in a study of Cappell-Shaneson homotopy 4-spheres in topology, then we further refine our upper bound in terms of the discriminants of RR and EE, which is 235ΔR12ΔE32\frac{2}{3^5} \Delta_R^{\frac{1}{2}}\cdot \Delta_E^{\frac{3}{2}}, when ΔE>3075\Delta_E>3075.

Keywords

Cite

@article{arxiv.2509.22386,
  title  = {An upper bound for the size of the ideal class monoid},
  author = {Sungmun Cho and Jungtaek Hong and Yuchan Lee},
  journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:2509.22386},
  year   = {2025}
}