A generalization of Dirichlet's unit theorem

Abstract

We generalize Dirichlet’s S-unit theorem from the usual group of S-units of a number field K to the infinite rank group of all algebraic numbers having nontrivial valuations only on places lying over S. Specifically, we demonstrate that the group of algebraic S-units modulo torsion is a Q-vector space which, when normed by the Weil height, spans a hyperplane determined by the product formula, and that the elements of this vector space which are linearly independent over Q retain their linear independence over R.