An exposition on the Kronecker-Weber theorem

Abstract

The Kronecker-Weber Theorem is a, classification result from Algebraic Number Theory. Theorem (Kronecker-Weber). Every finite, abelian extension of Q is contained in a cyclotomic field. This result was originally proven by Leopold Kronecker in 1853. However, his proof had some gaps that were later filled by Heinrich Martin Weber in 1886 and David Hilbert in 1896. Hilbert's strategy for the proof eventually led to the creation of the field of mathematics called Class Field Theory, which is the study of finite, abelian extensions of arbitrary fields and is still an area of active research. Not only is the Kronecker-Weber Theorem surprising, its proof is truly amazing. The idea of the proof is that for a finite, Galois extension K of Q, there is a connection between the Galois group Gal(K/Q) and how primes of Z split in a certain subring R of K corresponding to Z in Q. When Gal(K/Q) is abelian, this connection is so stringent that the only possibility is that K is contained in a cyclotomic field. In this paper, we give an overview of field/Galois theory and what the Kronecker-Weber Theorem means. We also talk about the ring of integers R of K, how primes split in R, how splitting of primes is related to the Galois group Gal(K/Q), and finally give a proof of the Kronecker-Weber Theorem using these ideas.