Topology of Numbers · Problem 8.4.1

Quadratic Fields — Allen Hatcher

Mathematics — Number Theory · ideal-class-group

Problem

Corresponding to a lattice L(α1,⋯ ,αn)L(\alpha_1, \cdots, \alpha_n) in Z[τ]\mathbb{Z}[\tau] there is a matrix (a1⋯anb1⋯bn)\begin{pmatrix} a_1 & \cdots & a_n \\ b_1 & \cdots & b_n \end{pmatrix} with αi=ai+biτ\alpha_i = a_i + b_i \tau as in Lemma 8.24. Show that the three operations of adding a multiple of one column to another, changing the sign of a column, and permuting columns do not change the greatest common divisor of the numbers in each row of the matrix. Deduce from this that if a,b+cτa, b + c\tau is the reduced basis for the lattice then cc is the greatest common divisor of the entries in the second row of the matrix.

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