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I'm trying to understand the concept of maximal order and unit group of an algebraic number field. By definition, the maximal order of an algebraic number field $F$ is the set of algebraic integers in F, i.e.

$O(F)=\{a \in F \mid \text{there exists a monic} \; f_a(x) \in \mathbb{Z}[x] \; \text{with} \; f_a(a)=0\}$

and the unit group of $F$ is

$U(F)=\{ a \in O(F) \mid a \neq 0 \; \text{and} \; a^{-1} \in O(F)\}$

To play with this, I'm looking at the splitting field $K$ of $f(x)=x^3-2$ over $\mathbb{Q}$. The roots of this polynomial are $\sqrt[3]{2}, \sqrt[3]{2} \left( \frac{-1+\sqrt{-3}}{2} \right), \sqrt[3]{2} \left( \frac{-1-\sqrt{-3}}{2} \right)$. So $K=\mathbb{Q}(\sqrt[3]{2}, \sqrt{-3})$ and $[K:\mathbb{Q}]=6$.

I think the maximal order of $K$ is $O(K)=\{a_1+a_2\sqrt[3]{2}+a_3\sqrt[3]{4}+a_4\sqrt{-3}+a_5\sqrt[3]{2}\sqrt{-3}+a_6\sqrt[3]{4}\sqrt{-3} \mid a_i \in \mathbb{Q} \}$. Is this correct?

Slightly unrelated question: I know a bit of GAP (the algebraic computation system). Can GAP tell me about maximal order of algebraic number field?

Edit: Define $a_i$ from $O(K)$ more carefully to be in $\mathbb{Q}$

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    Because $\frac{1+\sqrt{-3}}{2}$ is a root of $z^2-z+1$ because its cube is $-1$. This is why algebraic integers in $K$ are hard - it is often easy to find a basis for $K$ when it is harder to find a basis for $O(K)$2011-11-02

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This should be doable fairly easily by hand, and you'll learn much more that way. I recommend doing the problem first for the real cubic field ${\mathbb Q}(2^{1/3})$, where you'll find that an integral basis of the ring of algebraic integers is the obvious one, $\lbrace 1, 2^{1/3}, 2^{2/3} \rbrace $. A bit more fussing will persuade you that you probably have found a fundamental unit in $2^{1/3}-1$; general theory says that for this field, the complete group of units is $\lbrace \pm U^n\rbrace$, where ordinarily it's not easy to find $U$. The way things turn out is that it's easy to know the shape of the unit group, but hard to compute it (except in fields quadratic over $\mathbb Q$), while it's hard to predict the "class number" of the field without doing a specific computation, but relatively easy to find it computationally.

I confess I'm too lazy to look up the facts about the normal closure, ${\mathbb Q(2^{1/3},\omega})$, where $\omega$ is a primitive cube root of unity. My guess is that one possible integral basis is made up of the three elements mentioned above together with what you get by multiplying them by $\omega$. Again, general theory says that now there are two independent fundamental units, and I'll bet a nickel that you can take them to be the one I mentioned before and $\omega 2^{1/3}-1$