We apply the Euler system of Gauss sums (introduced by K.Rubin
in his proof of the Main Conjecture in Iwasawa theory) to Algebraic K-theory
of number fields. Using the Euler system we construct elements in K-groups
(with finite coefficients) of cyclotomic extensions of Q. The elements have
many nice properties, e.g., we are able to determine explicitly their
behaviour under the boundary map in the Quillen localization sequence.
The properties enabled us to perform at the level of higher
K-groups a descent argument of Kolyvagin. As the result we obtain a good
bound for the number of divisible elements in the p-torsion part of
K_{2n}(Q), for n odd. Recall that for an abelian, p-torsion group A its group
of divisible elements is by definition the intersection of the subgroups
p^kA, for k>0. The group may be finite and nontrivial.
In the case of n even positive the group of divisible elements of
the p-torsion part of K_{2n}(Q) should vanish, what is equivalent to
the classical conjecture of Kummer and Vandiver on the class numbers of
cyclotomic fields cf. Proposition 8. In the paper we also prove an index
formula for the number of divisible elements when n is evan. The formula
states that the number of divisible elements in the p-torsion part of the
group K_{2n}(F), for n even positive and F an abelian, totally real number
field equals the index of the group of cyclotomic elements of Deligne and
Soule in the etale K-group K^{et}_{2n+1}(Z[{1/p}]). Our proof of the formula
generalizes an argument of Bloch and Kato who proved it for Q.
ADDRESS: Department of Mathematics and Computer Science,
Adam Mickiewicz University, Poznan, POLAND