P-adic norm, valuation, and expansion

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SUMMARY

The discussion centers on the relationship between p-adic expansion, p-adic absolute value, and valuation as presented in "P-adic Numbers: An Introduction" by Fernando Gouvea. The p-adic absolute value, defined as |x|_p, is directly linked to the valuation v_p(n), which identifies the exponent of a prime p in the prime factorization of an integer n. The key conclusion is that the p-adic expansion allows for the direct extraction of the p-adic norm, with numbers having a p-adic norm of 1 corresponding to those with a non-zero constant term in their p-adic expansions.

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  • Understanding of p-adic numbers and their properties
  • Familiarity with prime factorization and integer decomposition
  • Knowledge of mathematical notation and definitions related to norms and valuations
  • Basic grasp of metric spaces in mathematics
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  • Learn about the relationship between p-adic norms and metric spaces
  • Explore examples of p-adic expansions and their implications in number theory
  • Investigate the role of valuations in algebraic structures and their significance in p-adic analysis
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Mathematicians, number theorists, and students studying p-adic analysis who seek to deepen their understanding of p-adic norms, valuations, and their interconnections.

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In this book I'm working from (P-adic numbers: An introduction by Fernando Gouvea), he gives an explanation of the p-adic expansion of a rational number which I'm pretty sure I understand this, but a bit later he talks about the p-adic absolute value, which from what I understand is the same as the norm. He defines the valuation like this:
...Define ##v_p: ℤ-0\rightarrowℝ## then for each integer ##n≠0## let ##v_p(n)## be the unique positive integer satisfying ##n=p^{v_p(n)}n'## with p not dividing n'...

Which I can understand that, my interpretation is that this is basically another way of decomposing an integer that emphasizes the prime factor that we care about. So ##v_p(n)## is just the exponent on p in the the prime factorization of n.

Then he discusses the p-adic absolute value, and in short he defines it as
$$
|x|_p=\left\{
\begin{array}{l}
|x|_p=p^{-\alpha}\text{ if } p^{\alpha}|x\\
|x|_p=1 \text{ if }p\not|\text{ } x
\end{array}
\right.
$$

I'm a little foggy as to how these 3 things are related. I'm pretty sure he defines the valuation the way he does for the proof that ##|x|_p## is a metric. But I don't see how the expansions are related.
 
I've resolved this question. When we find the p-adic expansion we can directly read off the value of the p-adic norm. Numbers whose p-adic norms are equal to 1 correspond to the numbers who p-adic expansions have a non-zero constant term.
 

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