English

On the image of $p$-adic logarithm on principal units

Number Theory 2025-08-05 v5

Abstract

The pp-adic logarithm appears in many places in number theory. Hence having a good description of the image of the pp-adic logarithm could be useful, and in particular, to figure out the image of 1+mK1 + \mathfrak{m}_K, where KK is an algebraic extension of Qp\mathbb{Q}_p and mK\mathfrak{m}_K its maximal ideal. If the ramification index of KK is strictly less than p1p-1 then it is well known that the pp-adic logarithm is a bijection of 1+mK1+\mathfrak{m}_K onto mK\mathfrak{m}_K. If the ramification index is equal or greater than p1p-1 than the pp-adic logarithm is no more a bijection and the situation is more complicated. Our main result is the computation of logp(1+mK)\log_p(1+\mathfrak{m}_K) in two cases: \begin{enumerate} \item[\bullet] for K=Qp(ζp)K=\mathbb{Q}_p(\zeta_p), with ζpp=1\zeta_p^p=1, totally ramified pp-cyclotomic extension of Qp\mathbb{Q}_p (ramification index equal p1p-1) \item[\bullet] for KK a quadratic extension of Q2\mathbb{Q}_2 (ramification index equal 1, 2). \end{enumerate}

Keywords

Cite

@article{arxiv.1904.09850,
  title  = {On the image of $p$-adic logarithm on principal units},
  author = {Mabud Ali Sarkar and Absos Ali Shaikh},
  journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:1904.09850},
  year   = {2025}
}

Comments

32 pages, final version, we revised the paper with adding motivations, references, and applications of the results. More appropriate title given. Comments are welcome!