Published online by Cambridge University Press: 26 February 2010
This paper deals with the problem (raised by J. Browkin) of how many ring generators are needed for the ring of integers of a given algebraic number field. I show that the number of generators needed for the integers of a field of degree n is less than (logn/log2) + 1, and that if 2 splits completely in the field the number of generators needed is in fact the largest integer less than (logn/log2) + 1. These results follow from a computable formula (that depends only on how the small primes factorize in the field) for the number of generators of the ring of integers of a given field. This formula has the single drawback that when it yields “one” two generators may be needed, and I show that there are fields of arbitrarily high degree for which this happens.