Note on cyclotomic units and Gauss sums in local cyclotomic fields (Q5949917)

Let \(K\) be an imaginary abelian number field, let \(p\) be an odd prime, and let \(K_{\infty}=\cup K_n\) be the cyclotomic \(\mathbb Z_p\)-extension of \(K\). Assume that \(K\) contains a primitive \(p\)-th root of unity and that the exponent of Gal\((K/\mathbb Q)\) is \(p-1\). Let \(\mathcal U_n\) be the group of semi-local units of \(K_n\) at \(p\), and let \(\mu_{p^{n+1}}\) be the group of \(p^{n+1}\)st roots of unity. The norm residue symbol at \(p\) gives a pairing \(\mathcal U_n\times \mathcal U_n\to \mu_{p^{n+1}}\). The author considers subgroups \(\mathcal C_n\) and \(\mathcal G_n\) of \(\mathcal U_n\) constructed from cyclotomic units and Gauss sums, respectively [see the author, J. Number Theory 68, 36-56 (1998; Zbl 0969.11038)] and shows that the index of the image of \(\mathcal C_n\times \mathcal G_n\) in \(\mu_{p^{n+1}}\) is bounded as \(n\to \infty\). The author also considers the annihilators of \(\mathcal C_n\) and \(\mathcal G_n\) with respect to this pairing and relates them to Greenberg's conjecture on the vanishing of the Iwasawa \(\lambda\) invariant for totally real number fields. (Note: The conclusion of Lemma 4 should be that \(a(n)-n\) is bounded from below).