A method for finding a minimal point of the lattice in cubic number fields (Q407376)

Let \(K\) be a real cubic field of negative discriminant. For \(\mathbb Q\)-independent elements \(1,\beta,\gamma\) of \(K\) let \(R\) be the lattice \(1+\beta Z +\gamma Z\), and for nonzero \(\alpha\in R\) define \(F(\alpha)=N_{K/Q}(\alpha)/\alpha\). A point \(\varphi>0\) of \(R\) is called minimal if \(0<\alpha<\varphi\), \(\alpha\in R\) implies \(F(\alpha)>F(\varphi)\). If \(1\) is a minimal point, then \(R\) is called a reduced lattice. Finally, if \(\varphi,\psi\in R\) are minimal, then \(\psi\) is called adjacent to \(\varphi\) if \(\psi=\min\{\alpha\in R:\;\varphi<\alpha,\;F(\varphi)>F(\alpha)\}\). The author presents a method to find a minimal point adjacent to \(1\) in a reduced lattice \(R\). This permits to find all minimal points in \(R\), which is useful in computing the fundamental unit and the regulator of \(K\).