Global units and ideal class groups (Q1092953)

Let K be a number field and F/K an abelian extension of K. The author shows how certain ``special'' global units of F can be used to define elements of \({\mathbb{Z}}[Gal(F/K)]\) which annihilate subquotients of the ideal class group of F. This result generalizes recent work of \textit{F. Thaine}, who dealt with the case \(K={\mathbb{Q}}\) and F/\({\mathbb{Q}}^ a \)real abelian extension [``On the ideal class groups of real abelian number fields'', to appear]. The author shows that cyclotomic units are special, which allows him to recover Thaine's results; and in a subsequent paper, he shows that the elliptic units in an imaginary quadratic field are special. This latter result forms an integral part of his spectacular proof that certain elliptic curves with complex multiplication have finite Tate-Shafarevich groups [Invent. Math. 89, 527-560 (1987; Zbl 0628.14018)].