Rings and fields

Sergei Silvestrov
Spring term 2011, Lecture 4

Contents of the lecture

+ Rings of polynomials.
+ Division in the ring of polynomials. The Division Algorithm.
+ Zeros of polynomials.
+ Irreducible polynomials (analogue of prime integers).
+ Factorisation of polynomials over a field.

Typeset by FoilTEX

Algebra course FMA190/FMA190F

2011, Spring term 2011, Sergei Silvestrov lectures

Polynomials
Definition 1. (Sec. 4.1, p. 81) Any element f (x) = a0 + a1 x + + am xm of the ring R[x] is called
a polynomial.
Definition 2. Let f (x) = a0 + a1 x + + am xm be a polynomial. We call am the leading coefficient
of f , we call a0 the constant term, we call m the degree of f . A constant polynomial is either the
zero polynomial or a polynomial of degree 0. Polynomials of degree 1, namely, a + bx with b = 0,
are called linear, polynomials of degree 2 are quadratic, degree 3s are cubic, then quartics,
quintics, and so on. A polynomial with am = 1 is monic.
The zero polynomial 0 does not have a degree because it has no nonzero coefficients. We
choose not to assign a degree to 0 because it is often a genuinely different case that must be dealt
with separately.
Definition 3. Let F be a field. The field of quotients of F[x], denoted by F(x), is called the field of
rational functions over F .

The evaluation homomorphisms

Definition 4. (Compare with Sec 4.4, p 100-101)
Let F be a subfield of a field E , let E , and let x F[x] be an indeterminate. The map : F[x] 7
E defined by

(a0 + a1 x + + am xm ) = a0 + a1 + + am m
is called an evaluation at .
Theorem 1. (Compare with Sec 4.4, p 100-101)
is a homomorphism of F[x] into E . Also, (x) = and maps F isomorphically by the
identity map, that is, (a) = a for a F .
Definition 5. (Compare with Definition in Sec 4.4, p 101)
Let F be a subfield of a field E , let f F[x], and let E . Let f () be the following element in E :

f () = ( f (x)) E.
is a zero (or a root) of f (x), if f () = 0.

Typeset by FoilTEX

Algebra course FMA190/FMA190F

2011, Spring term 2011, Sergei Silvestrov lectures

The division algorithm

We are now going to see that, when F is a field, virtually all the familiar theorems proved for
have polynomial analogs in F[x]; moreover, we shall see that the familiar proofs can be translated
into proofs here.
The division algorithm for polynomials with coefficients in a field says that long division is
possible.
Theorem 2. (The Division Algorithm in F[x], Sec 4.1, Th. 4.4 p 85)
Assume that F is a field and that f (x), g(x) F[x] with f (x) = 0. Then there are unique polynomials
q(x), r(x) F[x] with

g(x) = q(x) f (x) + r(x)

and either r(x) = 0 or the degree of r(x) is less that the degree of f (x).
Proof. We first prove the existence of such q and r. If g = q f for some q, define the remainder
r = 0, and we are done. Otherwise consider all (necessarily nonzero) polynomials of the form
g q f as q varies over F[x]. Let r = g q f has the least degree among all such polynomials.
Since g = q f + r, it suffices to show that the degree of r is less than the degree of f . Write
f (x) = an xn + + a1 x + a0 and r(x) = bm xm + + 11 x + b0 . Now an = 0 implies that an is a unit,
because F is a field, and so a1
n exists in F . If the degree of r is greater than or equal to the degree
of f , define

h(x) = r(x)

bm xm
f (x).
an x n

Note that either h = 0 or the degree of h is less than the degree of r.

[(bm xm )/(an xn )] f and

If h = 0, then r =

g = qf +r
bm x m
f
am x m
[
]
bm x m
= q+
f,
an xn
contradicting our assumption. If h = 0, then the degree of h is less than the degree of r and
= qf +

gqf = r = h+

bm xm
f.
an x n

Thus, g [q + (bm xm )/(an xn )] f = h, contradicting r being a polynomial of least degree having this
form. Therefore, the degree of r is less that the degree of f .

Typeset by FoilTEX

Algebra course FMA190/FMA190F

2011, Spring term 2011, Sergei Silvestrov lectures

To prove uniqueness of q(x) and r(x), assume that g = q f + r where the degree of r is less
that the degree of f . Then

(q q ) f = r r .
If r = r, then each side has a degree. But the degree of (q q ) f is greater or equal than the
degree of f , while the degree of r r is less than or equal to the maximum of the degrees of r and
r , which is less than the degree of f , a contradiction. Hence, r = r and (q q ) f = 0. As F[x] is
a domain and f = 0, it follows that q q = 0 and q = q .

Typeset by FoilTEX

Algebra course FMA190/FMA190F

2011, Spring term 2011, Sergei Silvestrov lectures

The factor theorem

Theorem 3. (The Factor Theorem, Sec. 4.4, Th. 4.15, p 102)
If f (x) F[x], where F is a field, then a F is a root of f (x) in F if and only if x a divides f (x) in
F[x].
Proof. If a is a root of f (x) in F , then f (a) = 0. The division algorithm gives

f (x) = q(x)(x a) + r;
the remainder r is a constant because x a has degree 1. Now evaluate

f (a) = q(a)(a a) + r,
and so r = f (a) = 0 and f (x) = q(x)(x a). Conversely, if f (x) = q(x)(x a), then evaluating at
a gives f (a) = q(a)(a a) = 0.

Zeros of polynomials
Theorem 4. (Sec. 4.4, Cor. 4.16, p 102)
Let F be a field and let f (x) F[x]. If f (x) has degree n, then f (x) has at most n roots in F .
Proof. We prove the statement by induction on n 0. If n = 0, then f (x) is a nonzero constant,
and so the number of its roots in F is zero. Now let n > 0. If f (x) has no roots in F , then we are
done, for 0 n. Otherwise, we may assume that there is a F with a a root of f (x); hence, by the
factor theorem,

f (x) = q(x)(x a);

moreover, q(x) F[x] has degree n 1. If there is a root b F with b = a, then

0 = f (b) = q(b)(b a).

Since b a = 0, we have q(b) = 0 (because F is a field, hence is an integral domain), so that b is
a root of q(x). Now the degree of q is n 1, so that the inductive hypothesis says that q(x) has at
most n 1 roots in F . Therefore, f (x) has at most n roots in F .

Typeset by FoilTEX

Algebra course FMA190/FMA190F

2011, Spring term 2011, Sergei Silvestrov lectures

Obs! The following corollary is useful example and extra material for self-reading
showing application of previous theorem 4 linking groups and fields in nice way. We will
study groups and Lagranges theorem used in the proof in the second half of the course.
But if you are enough brave to get a glimpse into the future, then you can try to crack the
proof of it already now as a mind puzzle!
Corollary 1. If F is a field and G is a finite subgroup of the multiplicative group F , then G is cyclic.
In particular, if F itself is finite, then F is cyclic.
Proof. Let d be a divisor of G. If there are two subgroups of G of order d , say, S and T , then
S T > d . But each a S T satisfies ad = 1, by Lagranges theorem, and hence it is a root
of xd 1. This contradicts Theorem 4, for this polynomial has too many roots in F . Thus, G is
cyclic.

Typeset by FoilTEX

Algebra course FMA190/FMA190F

2011, Spring term 2011, Sergei Silvestrov lectures

Irreducible polynomials
Definition 6. (Compare with Def. sec. 4.3 p. 95 and Theorem 4.10 p. 96)
Let F be a field. A polynomial p(x) F[x] is called irreducible if its degree is greater than or equal
to one and there is no factorisation in F[x] of the form p(x) = g(x)h(x) in which both factors have
degree smaller than the degree of p.
Equivalent formulation of the definition

Definition 7. (Compare with Def. sec. 4.3 p. 95 and Theorem 4.10 p. 96)
Let F be a field. A polynomial p(x) F[x] is called irreducible if its degree is greater than or
equal to one and its only divisors are polynomials of the form cp(x) where c F {0} and non-zero
constant polynomials.
Example 1. p(x) = x2 + 1 is irreducible in [x], but it factors as (x + i)(x i) in [x].
Theorem 5. (Cor. 4.18, Sec 4.4, p. 103)
Let F be a field and let f (x) be a quadratic or cubic polynomial. Then f (x) is irreducible in F[x] if
and only if f (x) does not have a root in F .
Proof. If f (x) = g(x)h(x) and neither g nor h is constant, then the degree of f is equal to the sum
of degrees of g and h. This implies that at least one of the factors has degree 1.
Example 2. x3 + x + 1 is irreducible in 5 [x]. Do it now! You need only verify that none of
0, 1, 2, 3, 4 is a root.

Typeset by FoilTEX

Algebra course FMA190/FMA190F

2011, Spring term 2011, Sergei Silvestrov lectures

Example: the irreducible polynomials of small degree in 2 [x]

Example 3. As always, the linear polynomials x and x + 1 are irreducible.
There are four quadratics: x2 , x2 + x, x2 + 1, x2 + x + 1. Since each of the first three has a
root in 2 , there is only one irreducible quadratic.
There are eight cubics, of which four are reducible because their constant term is 0. The
remaining polynomials are

x3 + 1;

x3 + x + 1;

x3 + x2 + 1;

x3 + x2 + x + 1.

Since 1 is a root of the first and fourth, the middle two are the only irreducible cubics.
There are 16 quartics, of which eight are reducible because their constant term is 0. Of the
eight with nonzero constant term, those having an even number of nonzero coefficients have 1 as
a root. There are now only four surviving polynomials f (x), and each of them has no roots in 2 ;
i.e., they have no linear factors. If f (x) = g(x)h(x), then both g(x) and h(x) must be irreducible
quadratics. But there is only one irreducible quadratic, namely, x2 + x + 1, and so (x2 + x + 1)2 =
x4 + x2 + 1 is reducible while the other three quartics are irreducible. The following list summarises
these observations.

x,

x + 1;

x2 + x + 1;

Typeset by FoilTEX

x3 + x + 1,

x3 + x2 + 1;

x4 + x3 + 1,

x4 + x + 1,

x4 + x3 + x2 + x + 1.

Algebra course FMA190/FMA190F

2011, Spring term 2011, Sergei Silvestrov lectures

The Eisenstein criterion

Theorem 6. (Eisenstein criterion, Th. 4.23, p. 111) Let p be a prime and f (x) = an xn + + a0
with
1) an 0 (mod p)
2) ai 0 (mod p) for all i < n
3) a0 0 (mod p2 )
Then f (x) is irreducible in [x].
Example 4. If f = 2x5 6x3 + 9x2 15, then the Eisenstein criterion with p = 3 shows that f is
irreducible in .
Lemma 1. (Compare with Def. sec. 4.3 p. 95 and Theorem 4.10 p. 96)
Let F be a field and let f (x), g(x) F[x]. If p(x) is an irreducible polynomial in F[x], and p(x)
divides f (x)g(x), then either p(x) divides f (x) or p(x) divides g(x).

Typeset by FoilTEX

Algebra course FMA190/FMA190F

2011, Spring term 2011, Sergei Silvestrov lectures

Unique factorisation
Theorem 7. (Th. 4.13, Sec 4.3, p.97)
If F is a field, then every polynomial f (x) F[x] of degree 1 is a product of a nonzero constant
and monic irreducibles. Moreover, if f (x) has two such factorisations

f (x) = ap1 (x) . . . pm (x) and

f (x) = bq1 (x) . . . qn (x),

that is, a and b are nonzero constants and the ps and d s are monic irreducibles, then a = b, m = n,
and the qs may be re-indexed so that qi = pi for all i.
Proof. We prove the existence of a factorisation for a polynomial f (x) by induction on the degree
of f . If the degree of f is equal to 1, then f (x) = ax + c = a(x + a1 c).As every linear polynomial,
x + a1 c is irreducible. Assume now that the degree of f is greater than 1. If f (x) is irreducible
and its leading coefficient is a, write f (x) = a(a1 f (x)); we are done, for a1 f (x) is monic. If
f (x) is not irreducible, then f (x) = g(x)h(x), where the degrees of both g and h are less than
the degree of f . By the inductive hypothesis, there are factorisations g(x) = bp1 (x) . . . pm (x) and
h(x) = cq1 (x) . . . qm (x), where the ps and qs are monic irreducibles. It follows that

f (x) = (bc)p1 (x) . . . pm (x)q1 (x) . . . qn (x)

as desired.
We now prove, by induction on M = max{m, n} 1, that if there is an equation

ap1 (x) . . . pm (x) = bq1 (x) . . . qn (x)

in which a and b are nonzero constants and the ps and qs are monic irreducibles, then a = b, m = n,
and the qs may be re-indexed so that qi = pi for all i. For the base step M = 1, the hypothesis
gives a polynomial, call it g(x), with g(x) = ap1 (x) = bq1 (x). Now a is the leading coefficient of
g(x), because p1 (x) is monic; similarly, b is the leading coefficient of g(x) because q1 (x) is monic.
Therefore, a = b, and cancelling gives p1 (x) = q1 (x). For the inductive step, the given equation
shows that pm (x) divides q1 (x) . . . qn (x). By Lemma 1, there is some i such that pm (x) divides
qi (x). But qi (x), being monic irreducible, has no monic divisors other than 1 and itself, so that
qi (x) = pm (x). Re-indexing, we may assume that qn (x) = pm (x). Canceling this factor, we have
ap1 (x) . . . pm1 (x) = bq1 (x) . . . qn1 (x). By the inductive hypothesis, a = b, m 1 = n 1 (hence
m = n), and after possible re-indexing, qi = pi for all i.

Typeset by FoilTEX

Algebra course FMA190/FMA190F

2011, Spring term 2011, Sergei Silvestrov lectures

Irreducibility and factorisation in [x]

Theorem 8. ( The "Fundamental" Theorem of "Algebra". Th. 4.25, Sec 4.6 p. 115)
Every non-constant polynomial in [x] has a root in .
(In other more advanced terminology: The field is algebraically closed).
OBS about the proof! There are by now many proofs of this theorem. The most
known oldest proofs use analysis, topology and/or functions of complex variable.
This has to do with deep properties of real and complex numbers and geometry and
topology in the real plane (2-dimensional linear space over the field of real numbers.
But there are now also some almost algebraic proofs which use analysis only minimally (the intermediate value theorem for continuous functions which is equivalent
to Dedekind completeness axiom of the field of real numbers stating that any set of
real numbers that has an upper bound must have a least upper bound).
The almost "proof" was published by Carl Friedrich Gauss in 1799 and it was mainly
geometric, but it had serious topological gaps, filled by Alexander Ostrowski in 1920.
Gauss published another correct proof in 1816. But it was Jean-Robert Argand who
delivered the first complete and rigorous proof of the fundamental theorem of algebra
in his 1814 work Rflexions sur la nouvelle thorie danalyse (Reflections on the new
theory of analysis). It was the first complete and rigorous proof of the theorem, and
was also the first proof to generalize the fundamental theorem of algebra to include
polynomials with complex coefficients. In 1978 it was called by The Mathematical In His proof is based on dAlemberts 1746
telligencer Sboth

ingenious and profoundT.

idea. In this paper Rflexions sur la nouvelle thorie danalyse in 1814, Argand
simplifies dAlemberts idea using a general theorem on the existence of a minimum
of a continuous function.
Theorem 9. (Cor. 4.26, 4.27, Sec. 4.6, pp 115-116)
The following statements hold in [x]:

A polynomial is irreducible in [x] if and only if it has degree 1, that is if and only if it is of the
form ax + b = a(x ( ba )) for some a, b , a = 0;
Every nonconstant polynomial of degree n in [x] can be written in the form
c(x a1 )(x a1 ) . . . (x an )
for some c, a1 , a2 , . . . , an and this factorization is unique except for the order of the factors;
Exercise: Read proof in the book.

Typeset by FoilTEX

10

Algebra course FMA190/FMA190F

2011, Spring term 2011, Sergei Silvestrov lectures

Irreducibility and factorisation in [x]

Theorem 10. (Th. 4.28, 4.29, 4.30, Sec. 4.6, pp 116-117)
The following statements hold in [x]:

If a + bi is a root of f (x) [x], then a bi is also a root of f (x);

A polynomial is irreducible in [x] if and only if it either has degree 1 or is of the form f (x) =
ax2 + bx + c with b2 4ac < 0;
Every nonconstant polynomial of odd degree in [x] has a root in ;
Exercise: Read proof in the book.

Typeset by FoilTEX

11