Complete field

In mathematics, a complete field is a field equipped with a metric and complete with respect to that metric. A field supports the elementary operations of addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division, while a metric represents the distance between two points in the set. Basic examples include the real numbers, the complex numbers, and complete valued fields (such as the p-adic numbers).

Definitions

Field

A field is a set ${\displaystyle F}$  with binary operations ${\displaystyle +}$  and ${\displaystyle \cdot }$  (called addition and multiplication, respectively), along with elements ${\displaystyle 0}$  and ${\displaystyle 1}$  such that for all ${\displaystyle a,b,c\in F}$ , the following relations hold:^[1]

1. ${\displaystyle a+(b+c)=(a+b)+c}$ 
2. ${\displaystyle a+b=b+a}$ 
3. ${\displaystyle a+0=a=0+a}$ 
4. ${\displaystyle a+x=0}$  has a solution
5. ${\displaystyle a(bc)=(ab)c}$ 
6. ${\displaystyle ab=ba}$ 
7. ${\displaystyle a(b+c)=ab+ac}$  and ${\displaystyle (a+b)c=ac+bc}$ 
8. ${\displaystyle a1=a=1a}$ 
9. ${\displaystyle ax=1}$  has a solution for ${\displaystyle a\neq 0}$ 

Complete metric

A metric on a set ${\displaystyle F}$  is a function ${\displaystyle d:F^{2}\to [0,\infty )}$ , that is, it takes two points in ${\displaystyle F}$  and sends them to a non-negative real number, such that the following relations hold for all ${\displaystyle x,y,z\in F}$ :^[2]

1. ${\displaystyle d(x,y)=0}$  if and only if ${\displaystyle x=y}$ 
2. ${\displaystyle d(x,y)=d(y,x)}$ 
3. ${\displaystyle d(x,y)\leq d(x,z)+d(z,y)}$ 

A sequence ${\displaystyle x_{n}}$  in the space is Cauchy with respect to this metric if for all ${\displaystyle \epsilon >0}$  there exists an ${\displaystyle N\in \mathbb {N} }$  such that for all ${\displaystyle n,m\geq N}$  we have ${\displaystyle d(x_{n},x_{m})<\epsilon }$ , and a metric is then complete if every Cauchy sequence in the metric space converges, that is, there is some ${\displaystyle x\in F}$  where for all ${\displaystyle \epsilon >0}$  there exists an ${\displaystyle N\in \mathbb {N} }$  such that for all ${\displaystyle n\geq N}$  we have ${\displaystyle d(x_{n},x)<\epsilon }$ . Every convergent sequence is Cauchy, however the converse does not hold in general.^[2][3]

Constructions

Real and complex numbers

The real numbers are the field with the standard Euclidean metric ${\displaystyle |x-y|}$ , and this measure is complete.^[2] Extending the reals by adding the imaginary number ${\displaystyle i}$  satisfying ${\displaystyle i^{2}=-1}$  gives the field ${\displaystyle \mathbb {C} }$ , which is also a complete field.^[3]

p-adic

The p-adic numbers are constructed from ${\displaystyle \mathbb {Q} }$  by using the p-adic absolute value

${\displaystyle v_{p}(a/b)=v_{p}(a)-v_{p}(b)}$ 

where ${\displaystyle a,b\in \mathbb {Z} .}$  Then using the factorization ${\displaystyle a=p^{n}c}$  where ${\displaystyle p}$  does not divide ${\displaystyle c,}$  its valuation is the integer ${\displaystyle n}$ . The completion of ${\displaystyle \mathbb {Q} }$  by ${\displaystyle v_{p}}$  is the complete field ${\displaystyle \mathbb {Q} _{p}}$  called the p-adic numbers. This is a case where the field is not algebraically closed. Typically, the process is to take the separable closure and then complete it again. This field is usually denoted ${\displaystyle \mathbb {C} _{p}.}$ ^[4]

References

1. Hungerford, Thomas W. (2014). Abstract Algebra: an introduction (Third ed.). Boston, MA: Brooks/Cole, Cengage Learning. pp. 44, 49. ISBN 978-1-111-56962-4.
2. Folland, Gerald B. (1999). Real analysis: modern techniques and their applications (2nd ed.). Chichester Weinheim [etc.]: New York J. Wiley & sons. pp. 13–14. ISBN 0-471-31716-0.
3. Rudin, Walter (2008). Principles of mathematical analysis (3., [Nachdr.] ed.). New York: McGraw-Hill. pp. 47, 52–54. ISBN 978-0-07-054235-8.
4. Koblitz, Neal. (1984). P-adic Numbers, p-adic Analysis, and Zeta-Functions (Second ed.). New York, NY: Springer New York. pp. 52–75. ISBN 978-1-4612-1112-9. OCLC 853269675.

See also

• Completion (algebra) – In algebra, completion w.r.t. powers of an idealPages displaying short descriptions of redirect targets
• Complete topological vector space – Structure in functional analysis
• Hensel's lemma – Result in modular arithmetic
• Henselian ring
• Compact group – Topological group with compact topology
• Locally compact field
• Locally compact quantum group
• Locally compact group
• Ordered topological vector space
• Ostrowski's theorem – On all absolute values of rational numbers
• Topological abelian group
• Topological field – Algebraic structure with addition, multiplication, and divisionPages displaying short descriptions of redirect targets
• Topological group – Group that is a topological space with continuous group action
• Topological module
• Topological ring
• Topological semigroup
• Topological vector space – Vector space with a notion of nearness