On circular distributions and a conjecture of Coleman (Q2022781)

Starting with the theory of cyclotomic numbers, the importance of the theory of distributions in number theory cannot be over-stressed as mentioned by several mathematicians including Kubert, Lang and Coleman. Denote by \(\mathcal{F}\), the multiplicative group of all functions from the set of nontrivial roots of unity to an algebraic closure of \(\mathbb{Q}\) that respect the natural action of the absolute Galois group. In [Invent. Math. 53, 91--116 (1979; Zbl 0429.12010)], \textit{R. F. Coleman} defined a distribution to be a function in \(\mathcal{F}\) which satisfies the `circular' relation \(\prod_{\zeta^n = \mu} f(\zeta) = f(\mu)\), for any nontrivial root of unity \(\mu\). Denoting by \(\mathcal{F}^d\), the group of all distributions, it has a subgroup comprising of `strict distributions' \(f \in \mathcal{F}\) such that \(f(\mu \zeta) \equiv f(\zeta)\) modulo primes above \(\ell\) for all \(n\), all primes \(\ell\) not dividing \(n\), all \(\mu \in \mu_l\) and all \(\zeta \in \mu_n -\{1\}\). All these groups are naturally modules over \(R = \lim_{\leftarrow_{n}} \mathbb{Z}[\mathrm{Gal}(\mathbb{Q}(\mu_n)/\mathbb{Q})]\). The element \(\Phi \in \mathcal{F}\) defined by \(\Phi(\zeta) = 1- \zeta\) for all \(\zeta\) is a strict distribution and the \(R\)-module generated by it is denoted by \(\mathcal{F}^c\) -- the so-called cyclotomic distributions. If \(\Pi\) is any set of odd primes, Coleman showed that the function \(\delta_{\Pi}\) which takes the value \(-1\) at \(\zeta\)'s whose orders are divisible only by primes in \(\Pi\) and the value \(1\) at other roots of unity, is a distribution. The only such function which is a strict distribution corresponds to the set \(\Pi\) of all odd primes. One calls Coleman distributions the \(R\)-submodule generated by all the \(\delta_{\Pi}\)'s. In [J. Reine Angew. Math. 356, 161--173 (1985; Zbl 0548.12003)], \textit{R. F. Coleman} conjectured \(\mathcal{F}^d = \mathcal{F}^c + D.\) The second author has shown earlier that the torsion subgroup of the left hand side is the module \(D\) of Coleman distributions, and that the submodule \(\mathcal{F}^c\) of cyclotomic distributions is torsion-free. However, so far it has not been possible to show if the conjectured equality holds good. In the present paper, the authors develop fresh techniques to study the problem. They work with the profinite completion of \(R\). The results here not only explain conceptually some of the earlier results of the second author mentioned above, they show that Coleman's conjecture holds good in a natural sense everywhere locally. There are several other auxiliary results of independent interest as well.