An application of the -adic analytic class number formula

Abstract

We propose an algorithm to verify the$p$-part of the class number for a number field$K$, provided$K$is totally real and an abelian extension of the rational field$\mathbb{Q}$, and$p$is any prime. On fields of degree 4 or higher, this algorithm has been shown heuristically to be faster than classical algorithms that compute the entire class number, with improvement increasing with larger field degrees.