For a prime number [latex]p[/latex], the p-adic numbers form an extension of the rational numbers that is topologically different from the real numbers. While real numbers are a completion of [latex]\mathbb{Q}[/latex] with respect to the usual absolute value metric, the p-adic numbers are the completion of [latex]\mathbb{Q}[/latex] with respect to the p-adic metric, where numbers are “small” if they are divisible by a high power of [latex]p[/latex].

















