Exercise 1.33

Show that α ∈ ℤ [ i ] is a unit iff λ ( α ) = 1 . Deduce that 1, -1, i, and - i are the only units in ℤ [ i ] .

Answers

Proof. Let α = a + bi ∈ ℤ [ i ] .

∙ If λ ( α ) = 1 , then α α ¯ = 1 , where α ¯ = a − bi ∈ ℤ [ i ] , so α is an unit.

∙ Conversely, if α is an unit, there exists β ∈ ℤ [ i ] such that αβ = 1 , then λ ( α ) λ ( β ) = 1 , where λ ( α ) , λ ( β ) are positive integers, hence λ ( α ) = 1 .

So α = a + ib is an unit of ℤ [ i ] if and only if a 2 + b 2 = 1 . In this case, | a | 2 ≤ 1 , a ∈ { 0 , 1 , − 1 } . If a = 0 , b = ± 1 , and if a = ± 1 , b = 0 , so the only units of ℤ [ i ] are 1 , i , − 1 , − i . □

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2022-07-19 00:00
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