The square-class group Kˣ ⧸ (Kˣ)² #
For a field K, the square-class group is the quotient of Kˣ by its squares. Every element
has order dividing 2, so the quotient is an 𝔽₂ = ZMod 2-vector space (Mathlib's
QuotientAddGroup.zmodModule, written additively on Additive Kˣ).
A ZMod 2-linear combination of the classes of a finite family of units is, up to the {0, 1}
coefficients, exactly a subset product, and it vanishes precisely when that subset product is a
square. So linear independence of the classes is the Finset form of square-class independence
(no nonempty subset product is a square), one subset at a time.
Main definitions and results #
TauCeti.SquareClassGroup: the square-class groupKˣ ⧸ (Kˣ)², an𝔽₂-vector space.TauCeti.squareClass,TauCeti.squareClassHom: the class of a unit, as a function and a multiplicative homomorphism, withsquareClass_eq_zero_iffcharacterising the trivial class as the squares,ker_squareClassHomidentifying the kernel of the quotient map with the subgroup of squares, andsquareClass_mul,squareClass_prod,squareClass_powcomputing it on products and powers.TauCeti.squareClass_eq_iff_isSquare_mul: equality of square classes read as a square product.TauCeti.SquareClassGroup.two_nsmul_eq_zero: the square-class group is killed by two.TauCeti.linearIndependent_squareClass_iff: the classes ofd : ι → KˣareZMod 2-linearly independent iff no nonempty subset product is a square.
The square-class group Kˣ ⧸ (Kˣ)², written additively on Additive Kˣ.
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The square-class group is a ZMod 2-module: every element has order dividing two, since the
double of any unit class is the class of a square.
The square class of a unit is its image under the additive quotient map.
The unit underlying a quotient representative has the original square class.
The square-class quotient map, written multiplicatively between the unit group and the multiplicative form of the additive square-class group.
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A unit has trivial square class iff it is a square.
The kernel of the square-class quotient map is the subgroup of squares.
The unit 1 has trivial square class.
The square class of a product of two units is the sum of their square classes.
Two units have the same square class exactly when their product is a square. This is the quotient-free reading of equality in the square-class group.
The square class of a power is the corresponding multiple of the square class.
Square-class independence is ZMod 2-linear independence. For a finite family of units
d : ι → Kˣ, the square classes squareClass (d i) are ZMod 2-linearly independent in the
square-class group iff no nonempty subset product ∏_{i ∈ S} d i is a square. The right-hand side
is the Finset form of square-class independence that the multiquadratic degree theorem consumes.