The first factor of the class number of the $p$-th cyclotomic field

Abstract

Kummer's conjecture states that the relative class number of the $p$-th cyclotomic field follows a strict asymptotic law. Granville has shown it unlikely to be true -- it cannot be true if we assume the truth of two other widely believed conjectures. We establish a new bound for the error term in Kummer's conjecture, and more precisely we prove that $\log(h_p^-)=\frac{p+3}{4}\log(p) + \frac{p}{2}\log(2\pi)+\log(1-\beta)+O(\log_2 p)$, where $\beta$ is a possible Siegel zero of an $L(s,\chi)$, $\chi$ odd.