Units of a family of fields related to the curve \(X_ 1(25)\). (Q1813220): Difference between revisions

In 1974 Shanks introduced what he called the ``simplest cubic fields''. These were the cyclic extensions of degree three generated by the roots of \(x^ 3-tx^ 2-(t+3)x-1\), where \(t\) is an integer. Later M.-N. Gras found an analogous family of fields of degree four and E. Lehmer provided an example of such a family of degree five. The main interest in these fields resides in our ability, under certain conditions, to determine a fundamental system of units and to bound (or even evaluate) the class number. In a previous paper the author used the modular curve \(X_ 1(13)\) to construct a family of cyclic fields of degree 6, and in the paper under review he applies these same ideas, using the modular curve \(X_ 1(25)\), to construct a family of cyclic fields of degree 10, a family that was studied by Lehmer and by Schoof and Washington. It is shown how, under certain conditions, a fundamental system of units can be found for these fields. Also, in a particular case the connection between these units and the Gaussian periods of these Abelian extensions is described.