LMFDB definition

Class groups

The ideal class group of a number field KK with ring of integers OKO_K is the group of equivalence classes of ideals, given by the quotient of the multiplicative group of all fractional ideals of OKO_K by the subgroup of principal fractional ideals.

Since KK is a number field, the ideal class group of KK is a finite abelian group, and so has the structure of a product of cyclic groups encoded by a finite list [a1,…,an][a_1,\dots,a_n], where the aia_i are positive integers with ai∣ai+1a_i\mid a_{i+1} for 1≤i<n1\leq i < n.

LMFDB source · reviewed

Alina Bucur, David Farmer, Holly Swisher, Andrew Sutherland, John Voight, John Jones, Alvaro Lozano-Robledo. CC BY-SA 4.0. Snapshot 2026-09-22; formatting adapted for this site.

All definitions →