English

On the $p$-adic transcendence of $\sum_{k=1}^\infty p^{-1/p^k}$

Number Theory 2025-09-30 v1

Abstract

Let pp be a prime number. In this article, we prove that the pp-adic Hahn series k=1p1/pk\sum_{k=1}^\infty p^{-1/p^k}, which is the mixed-characteristic analogue of Abhyankar's solution k=1t1/pk\sum_{k=1}^\infty t^{-1/p^k} to the Artin-Schreier equation XpXt1=0X^p-X-t^{-1}=0 over Fp( ⁣(t) ⁣)\mathbf{F}_p\left(\!\left(t\right)\!\right), is a pp-adic complex number, but not a pp-adic algebraic number. Based on this result, we formulate a conjecture about the possible order type of the support of an algebraic pp-adic Hahn series and prove that it is implied by a tentative observation of Kedlaya.

Keywords

Cite

@article{arxiv.2509.24609,
  title  = {On the $p$-adic transcendence of $\sum_{k=1}^\infty p^{-1/p^k}$},
  author = {Shanwen Wang and Yijun Yuan},
  journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:2509.24609},
  year   = {2025}
}

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10 pages