Conductors and Quadratic base change
Let $F$ be a totally real field and $K/F$ a totally real quadratic extension. For a Hilbert cusp newform $f$ over $F$ with base change $f_K$ to $K,$ we determine the exact level of $f_K$ in terms of the level of $f,$ using only local representation theory: for each place $\mathfrak p$ of $F$ we compute how the conductor of the local component of $f$ changes under quadratic base change. The tame case (odd residue characteristic) follows from existing base change theory, but the case $p=2$ requires a finer $\varepsilon$-factor analysis that does not appear in the literature. We give a complete treatment of the dyadic imprimitive representations and, more delicately, the exceptional supercuspidal representations, for which no closed-form base change formula was previously known; in particular we determine, in terms of local root numbers, the base change of every exceptional supercuspidal representation of $GL(2,\mathbb Q_2)$ with trivial central character and conductor $3.$ This yields an explicit formula for the level of $f_K,$ specialized here to $F=\mathbb Q,$ along with a partial converse.