Quadratic Field - Discriminant

Discriminant

The discriminant of the quadratic field Q(√d) is d if d is congruent to 1 modulo 4, and otherwise 4d. For example, when d is −1 so that K is the field of so-called Gaussian rationals, the discriminant is −4. The reason for this distinction relates to general algebraic number theory. The ring of integers of K is spanned by 1 and the square root of d only in the second case, and in the first case there are such integers that lie at half the 'lattice points' (for example, when d = −3, these are the Eisenstein integers, given by the complex cube roots of unity).

The set of discriminants of quadratic fields is exactly the set of fundamental discriminants.