Universal norms of \(p\)-units in some non-commutative Galois extensions (Q2369736)

Fix a number field \(F\), a rational prime \(p\) and an algebraic Galois extension \(F_\infty\) of \(F\). The universal object studied here is the group \[ U(F_\infty/F)=\Im \bigl(\varprojlim O_L[1/p]^\times\otimes{\mathbb Z}_p\rightarrow O_F[1/p]^\times\otimes{\mathbb Z}_p\bigr) \] where \(L\) runs through finite extensions of \(F\) inside \(F_\infty\) and the limit is taken over the norm maps. \textit{J. Coates} and \textit{R. Sujatha} [Algebra and number theory. Proceedings of the silver jubilee conference, Hyderabad, India, December 11--16, 2003. New Delhi: Hindustan Book Agency. 327-337 (2005; Zbl 1082.11032)] showed that if \(G=\text{Gal}(F_\infty/F)\) is a commutative \(p\)-adic Lie group then \(U(F_\infty/F)\) is of finite index in \(O_F[1/p]^\times\otimes{\mathbb Z}_p)\), as long as \(F\) has only one place over~\(p\). The results here extend this to some noncommutative extensions, as conjectured by Coates. In particular, if \(F_\infty\) is obtained by adjoining to \(F\) all \(p\)-power roots of finitely many elements of \(F\) (one of them \(1\in F\)), and \(F^{\text{cyc}}\) is the cyclotomic \({\mathbb Z}_p\)-extension of \(F\), then \(U(F_\infty/F)\) is of finite index both in \(U(F^{\text{cyc}}/F)\) and, if \(F\) has only one place over~\(p\), in \(O_F[1/p]^\times\otimes{\mathbb Z}_p\) In the commutative case, an essential point is that \(H_m(G,{\mathcal Z}^2)\) with coefficients in the \({\mathbb Z}_p[G]\)-module \({\mathcal Z}^2= \varprojlim H^2(O_L[1/p],{\mathbb Z}_p(1))\), vanishes for all \(m\) if it does for \(m=0\). This fails for noncommutative \(G\). However, it is finiteness, not vanishing, that is really needed, and this holds because \(K_{2k}(O_F[1/p])\) is finite and because, by a result of Soulé, there is a surjective Chern class map \[ K_{2k}(O_F[1/p])\rightarrow H^2(O_F[1/p], {\mathbb Z}_p(k+1)). \] Even this does not quite give the finiteness one needs: the cyclotomic extension is an essential intermediary. Indeed an example is given here where the analogous result fails, i.e. \(U(F_\infty/F)\) is not of finite index \(O_F[1/p]^\times\otimes {\mathbb Z}_p\).