Fields and Galois Theory

J.S. Milne

Version 4.53
May 27, 2017
These notes give a concise exposition of the theory of fields, including the Galois theory
of finite and infinite extensions and the theory of transcendental extensions. The first six
chapters form a standard course, and the final three chapters are more advanced.

BibTeX information
@misc{milneFT,
author={Milne, James S.},
title={Fields and Galois Theory (v4.53)},
year={2017},
note={Available at www.jmilne.org/math/},
pages={138}
}

v2.01 (August 21, 1996). First version on the web.

v2.02 (May 27, 1998). Fixed about 40 minor errors; 57 pages.
v3.00 (April 3, 2002). Revised notes; minor additions to text; added 82 exercises with
solutions, an examination, and an index; 100 pages.
v3.01 (August 31, 2003). Fixed many minor errors; no change to numbering; 99 pages.
v4.00 (February 19, 2005). Minor corrections and improvements; added proofs to the
section on infinite Galois theory; added material to the section on transcendental
extensions; 107 pages.
v4.10 (January 22, 2008). Minor corrections and improvements; added proofs for Kummer
theory; 111 pages.
v4.20 (February 11, 2008). Replaced Maple with PARI; 111 pages.
v4.21 (September 28, 2008). Minor corrections; fixed problem with hyperlinks; 111 pages.
v4.22 (March 30, 2011). Minor changes; changed TEXstyle; 126 pages.
v4.30 (April 15, 2012). Minor fixes; added sections on etale algebras; 124 pages.
v4.40 (March 20, 2013). Minor fixes and additions; 130 pages.
v4.50 (March 18, 2014). Added chapter explaining Grothendiecks approach to Galois
theory (Chapter 8) and made many minor improvements; numbering has changed; 138
pages.
v4.53 (May 27, 2017). Minor fixes and additions; 138 pages.
Available at www.jmilne.org/math/
Please send comments and corrections to me at the address on my web page.

The photograph is of Sabre Peak, Moraine Creek, New Zealand.

Copyright 19962017
c J.S. Milne.
Single paper copies for noncommercial personal use may be made without explicit permission
from the copyright holder.
 Contents

Contents 3
Notations. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
References. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

1 Basic Definitions and Results 7

Rings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
Fields . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
The characteristic of a field . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
Review of polynomial rings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
Factoring polynomials . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
Extension fields . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
The subring generated by a subset . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
The subfield generated by a subset . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
Construction of some extension fields . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
Stem fields . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
Algebraic and transcendental elements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
Transcendental numbers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
Constructions with straight-edge and compass. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
Algebraically closed fields . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
Exercises . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24

2 Splitting Fields; Multiple Roots 27

Maps from simple extensions. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
Splitting fields . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
Multiple roots . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
Exercises . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33

3 The Fundamental Theorem of Galois Theory 35

Groups of automorphisms of fields . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
Separable, normal, and Galois extensions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
The fundamental theorem of Galois theory . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
Examples . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41
Constructible numbers revisited . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43
The Galois group of a polynomial . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44
Solvability of equations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45
Exercises . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45

4 Computing Galois Groups 47

When is Gf  An ? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47

3
 When is Gf transitive? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48
Polynomials of degree at most three . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49
Quartic polynomials . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49
Examples of polynomials with Sp as Galois group over Q . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51
Finite fields . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52
Computing Galois groups over Q . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54
Exercises . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56

5 Applications of Galois Theory 59

Primitive element theorem. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59
Fundamental Theorem of Algebra . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61
Cyclotomic extensions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62
Dedekinds theorem on the independence of characters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65
The normal basis theorem . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66
Hilberts Theorem 90 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69
Cyclic extensions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71
Kummer theory . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72
Proof of Galoiss solvability theorem . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74
Symmetric polynomials . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75
The general polynomial of degree n . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77
Norms and traces . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79
Exercises . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83

6 Algebraic Closures 85
Zorns lemma . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85
First proof of the existence of algebraic closures . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 86
Second proof of the existence of algebraic closures . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 86
Third proof of the existence of algebraic closures . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 87
(Non)uniqueness of algebraic closures . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 88
Separable closures . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 88

7 Infinite Galois Extensions 91

Topological groups . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91
The Krull topology on the Galois group . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 92
The fundamental theorem of infinite Galois theory . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 94
Galois groups as inverse limits . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 97
Nonopen subgroups of finite index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 99

8 The Galois theory of etale algebras 101

Review of commutative algebra . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 101
Etale algebras over a field . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 102
Classification of etale algebras over a field . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 104
Comparison with the theory of covering spaces. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 107

9 Transcendental Extensions 109

Algebraic independence . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 109
Transcendence bases . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 110
Luroths theorem . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 113
Separating transcendence bases . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 116
Transcendental Galois theory . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 117

4
 Exercises . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 117

A Review Exercises 119

B Two-hour Examination 125

C Solutions to the Exercises 127

Index 137

5
Notations.
We use the standard (Bourbaki) notations:

N D f0; 1; 2; : : :g;
Z D ring of integers,
R D field of real numbers,
C D field of complex numbers,
Fp D Z=pZ D field with p elements, p a prime number.

Given an equivalence relation,  denotes the equivalence class containing . The cardinality
of a set S is denoted by jSj (so jSj is the number of elements in S when S is finite). Let I
and A be sets. A family of elements of A indexed by I , denoted by .ai /i2I , is a function
i 7! ai W I ! A. Throughout the notes, p is a prime number: p D 2; 3; 5; 7; 11; : : :.
X  Y X is a subset of Y (not necessarily proper).
def
X DY X is defined to be Y , or equals Y by definition.
X Y X is isomorphic to Y .
X 'Y X and Y are canonically isomorphic (or there is a given or unique isomorphism).

P REREQUISITES
Group theory (for example, GT), basic linear algebra, and some elementary theory of rings.

References.
Jacobson, N., 1964, Lectures in Abstract Algebra, Volume III Theory of Fields and Galois
Theory, van Nostrand.
Also, the following of my notes (available at www.jmilne.org/math/).
GT Group Theory, v3.14, 2017.
ANT Algebraic Number Theory, v3.06, 2014.
CA A Primer of Commutative Algebra, v4.02, 2017.
A reference monnnn is to http://mathoverflow.net/questions/nnnn/
PARI is an open source computer algebra system freely available here.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
I thank the following for providing corrections and comments for earlier versions of the
notes: Mike Albert, Lior Bary-Soroker, Maren Baumann, Leendert Bleijenga, Tommaso
Centeleghe, Sergio Chouhy, Demetres Christofides, Antoine Chambert-Loir, Dustin Clausen,
Keith Conrad, Daniel Duparc, Hardy Falk, Le Minh Ha, Jens Hansen, Albrecht Hess, Philip
Horowitz, Trevor Jarvis, Henry Kim, Martin Klazar, Jasper Loy Jiabao, Weiyi Liu, Dmitry
Lyubshin, Geir Arne Magnussen, John McKay, Georges E. Melki, Courtney Mewton, Shuichi
Otsuka, Dmitri Panov, Artem Pelenitsyn, Alain Pichereau, David G. Radcliffe, Roberto La
Scala, Chad Schoen, Prem L Sharma, Dror Speiser, Sam Spiro, Bhupendra Nath Tiwari,
Mathieu Vienney, Martin Ward (and class), Xiande Yang, Wei Xu, and others.

6
 C HAPTER 1
Basic Definitions and Results

Rings
A ring is a set R with two binary operations C and
such that
(a) .R; C/ is a commutative group;
(b)
is associative, and there exists1 an element 1R such that a
1R D a D 1R
a for all
a 2 RI
(c) the distributive law holds: for all a; b; c 2 R,
.a C b/
c D a
c C b
c
a
.b C c/ D a
b C a
c.
We usually omit
and write 1 for 1R when this causes no confusion. If 1R D 0, then
R D f0g.
A subring S of a ring R is a subset that contains 1R and is closed under addition, passage
to the negative, and multiplication. It inherits the structure of a ring from that on R.
A homomorphism of rings W R ! R0 is a map such that
.a C b/ D .a/ C .b/; .ab/ D .a/.b/; .1R / D 1R0
for all a; b 2 R. A ring R is said to be commutative if multiplication is commutative:
ab D ba for all a; b 2 R:
A commutative ring is said to be an integral domain if 1R 0 and the cancellation law
holds for multiplication:
ab D ac, a 0, implies b D c:
An ideal I in a commutative ring R is a subgroup of .R; C/ that is closed under multiplication
by elements of R:
r 2 R, a 2 I , implies ra 2 I:
The ideal generated by elements a1 ; : : : ; an is denoted by .a1 ; : : : ; an /. For example, .a/ is
the principal ideal aR.
We assume that the reader has some familiarity with the elementary theory of rings.
For example, in Z (more generally, any Euclidean domain) an ideal I is generated by any
smallest nonzero element of I .
1 We follow Bourbaki in requiring that rings have a 1, which entails that we require homomorphisms to
preserve it.

7
8 1. BASIC D EFINITIONS AND R ESULTS

Fields
D EFINITION 1.1 A field is a set F with two composition laws C and
such that
(a) .F; C/ is a commutative group;
(b) .F  ;
/, where F  D F X f0g, is a commutative group;
(c) the distributive law holds.

Thus, a field is a nonzero commutative ring such that every nonzero element has an inverse.
In particular, it is an integral domain. A field contains at least two distinct elements, 0 and 1.
The smallest, and one of the most important, fields is F2 D Z=2Z D f0; 1g.
A subfield S of a field F is a subring that is closed under passage to the inverse. It
inherits the structure of a field from that on F .

L EMMA 1.2 A nonzero commutative ring R is a field if and only if it has no ideals other
than .0/ and R.

P ROOF. Suppose R is a field, and let I be a nonzero ideal in R. If a is a nonzero element

of I , then 1 D a 1 a 2 I , and so I D R. Conversely, suppose R is a commutative ring with
no proper nonzero ideals. If a 0, then .a/ D R, and so there exists a b in R such that
ab D 1. 2

E XAMPLE 1.3 The following are fields: Q, R, C, Fp D Z=pZ (p prime):

A homomorphism of fields W F ! F 0 is simply a homomorphism of rings. Such a

homomorphism is always injective, because its kernel is a proper ideal (it doesnt contain 1),
which must therefore be zero.

The characteristic of a field

One checks easily that the map

Z ! F; n 7! 1F C 1F C


C 1F .n copies/;

is a homomorphism of rings. For example,

.1F C


C 1F / C .1F C


C 1F / D 1F C


C 1F

m n mCn

because of associativity of addition. Therefore its kernel is an ideal in Z.

C ASE 1: The kernel of the map is .0/, so that

n
1F D 0 H) n D 0 (in Z).

Nonzero integers map to invertible elements of F under n 7! n
1F W Z ! F , and so this map

extends to a homomorphism
m 1
7! .m
1F /.n
1F / W Q ,! F:
n
Thus, in this case, F contains a copy of Q, and we say that it has characteristic zero.
C ASE 2: The kernel of the map is .0/, so that n
1F D 0 for some n 0. The smallest
positive such n will be a prime p (otherwise there will be two nonzero elements in F whose
 Review of polynomial rings 9

product is zero), and p generates the kernel. Thus, the map n 7! n
1F W Z ! F defines an
isomorphism from Z=pZ onto the subring

fm
1F j m 2 Zg

of F . In this case, F contains a copy of Fp , and we say that it has characteristic p.

The fields F2 ; F3 ; F5 ; : : : ; Q are called the prime fields. Every field contains a copy of
exactly one of them.

R EMARK 1.4 The binomial theorem

m
m 1
.a C b/m D am C bC m

m 2 2
1 a 2 a b C


C bm

pn

holds in every commutative ring. If p is prime, then p divides r for all r with 1  r 
p n 1. Therefore, when F has characteristic p,
n n n
.a C b/p D ap C b p all n  1;

and so the map a 7! ap W F ! F is a homomorphism. It is called the Frobenius endomor-

phism of F . When F is finite, the Frobenius endomorphism is an automorphism.

Review of polynomial rings

Let F be a field.

1.5 The ring F X of polynomials in the symbol (or indeterminate or variable) X

with coefficients in F is an F -vector space with basis 1, X , . . . , X n , . . . , and with the
multiplication defined by
X  X  X X 
ai X i bj X j D ai bj X k :
i j k i Cj Dk

For any ring R containing F as a subring and element r of R, there is a unique homomor-
phism W F X ! R such that .X / D r and .a/ D a for all a 2 F .

1.6 Division algorithm: given f .X / and g.X / 2 F X with g 0, there exist q.X /,
r.X/ 2 F X with r D 0 or deg.r/ < deg.g/ such that

f D gq C rI

moreover, q.X / and r.X / are uniquely determined. Thus F X is a Euclidean domain with
deg as norm, and so it is a unique factorization domain.

1.7 Let f 2 F X and a 2 F . Then

f D .X a/q C c

with q 2 F X and c 2 F . Therefore, if a is a root of f (that is, f .a/ D 0), then X a

divides f . From unique factorization, it now follows that f has at most deg.f / roots (see
also Exercise 1-3).
10 1. BASIC D EFINITIONS AND R ESULTS

1.8 Euclids algorithm: Let f and g 2 F X have gcd d.X /. Euclids algorithm constructs
polynomials a.X / and b.X / such that

a.X /
f .X / C b.X /
g.X / D d.X /; deg.a/ < deg.g/; deg.b/ < deg.f /:

Recall how it goes. We may assume that deg.f /  deg.g/ since the argument is the same in
the opposite case. Using the division algorithm, we construct a sequence of quotients and
remainders

f D q0 g C r0
g D q1 r0 C r1
r0 D q2 r1 C r2




rn 2 D qn rn 1 C rn
rn 1 D qnC1 rn

with rn the last nonzero remainder. Then, rn divides rn 1, hence rn 2 ,. . . , hence g, and
hence f . Moreover,

rn D rn 2 qn rn 1 D rn 2 qn .rn 3 qn 1 rn 2 / D


D af C bg

and so every common divisor of f and g divides rn : we have shown rn D gcd.f; g/.
Let af C bg D d . If deg.a/  deg.g/, write a D gq C r with deg.r/ < deg.g/; then

rf C .b C qf /g D d;

and b C qf automatically has degree < deg.f /.

PARI knows Euclidean division: typing divrem(13,5) in PARI returns 2; 3, meaning
that 13 D 2  5 C 3, and gcd(m,n) returns the greatest common divisor of m and n.

1.9 Let I be a nonzero ideal in F X , and let f be a nonzero polynomial of least degree in
I ; then I D .f / (because F X is a Euclidean domain). When we choose f to be monic, i.e.,
to have leading coefficient one, it is uniquely determined by I . Thus, there is a one-to-one
correspondence between the nonzero ideals of F X and the monic polynomials in F X .
The prime ideals correspond to the irreducible monic polynomials.

1.10 Since F X is an integral domain, we can form its field of fractions F .X /. Its
elements are quotients f =g, f and g polynomials, g 0:

Factoring polynomials
The following results help in deciding whether a polynomial is reducible, and in finding its
factors.

P ROPOSITION 1.11 Suppose r 2 Q is a root of a polynomial

am X m C am 1X
m 1
C


C a0 ; ai 2 Z;

and let r D c=d , c; d 2 Z, gcd.c; d / D 1. Then cja0 and d jam :

 Factoring polynomials 11

P ROOF. It is clear from the equation

am c m C am 1c
m 1
d C


C a0 d m D 0

that d jam c m , and therefore, d jam : Similarly, cja0 . 2

E XAMPLE 1.12 The polynomial f .X / D X 3 3X 1 is irreducible in QX because its

only possible roots are 1, and f .1/ 0 f . 1/.

P ROPOSITION 1.13 (G AUSS S L EMMA ) Let f .X / 2 ZX . If f .X / factors nontrivially

in QX , then it factors nontrivially in ZX .
def
P ROOF. Let f D gh in QX with g; h Q. For suitable integers m and n, g1 D mg and
def
h1 D nh have coefficients in Z, and so we have a factorization

mnf D g1
h1 in ZX .

If a prime p divides mn, then, looking modulo p, we obtain an equation

0 D g1
h1 in Fp X .

Since Fp X is an integral domain, this implies that p divides all the coefficients of at least
one of the polynomials g1 ; h1 , say g1 , so that g1 D pg2 for some g2 2 ZX . Thus, we have
a factorization
.mn=p/f D g2
h1 in ZX .
Continuing in this fashion, we eventually remove all the prime factors of mn, and so obtain
a nontrivial factorization of f in ZX . 2

P ROPOSITION 1.14 If f 2 ZX is monic, then every monic factor of f in QX lies in

ZX.

P ROOF. Let g be a monic factor of f in QX , so that f D gh with h 2 QX also monic.

Let m; n be the positive integers with the fewest prime factors such that mg; nh 2 ZX . As
in the proof of Gausss Lemma, if a prime p divides mn, then it divides all the coefficients
of at least one of the polynomials mg; nh, say mg, in which case it divides m because g is
monic. Now m p g 2 ZX , which contradicts the definition of m. 2

A SIDE 1.15 We sketch an alternative proof of Proposition 1.14. A complex number is said to be
an algebraic integer if it is a root of a monic polynomial in ZX . Proposition 1.11 shows that every
algebraic integer in Q lies in Z. The algebraic integers form a subring of C see Theorem 6.5 of
my notes on Commutative Algebra. Now let 1 ; : : : ; m be the roots of f in C. By definition, they
are algebraic integers, and the coefficients of any monic factor of f are polynomials in (certain of)
the i , and therefore are algebraic integers. If they lie in Q, then they lie in Z.

P ROPOSITION 1.16 (E ISENSTEIN S CRITERION ) Let

f D am X m C am 1X
m 1
C


C a0 ; ai 2 ZI

suppose that there is a prime p such that:

p does not divide am ,
p divides am 1 ; :::; a0 ,

p 2 does not divide a0 .

12 1. BASIC D EFINITIONS AND R ESULTS

Then f is irreducible in QX .

P ROOF. If f .X / factors in QX , then it factors in ZX , say,

am X m C am 1X
m 1
C


C a0 D .br X r C


C b0 /.cs X s C


C c0 /

with bi ; ci 2 Z and r; s < m. Since p, but not p 2 , divides a0 D b0 c0 , p must divide exactly
one of b0 , c0 , say, b0 . Now from the equation

a1 D b0 c1 C b1 c0 ;

we see that pjb1 ; and from the equation

a2 D b0 c2 C b1 c1 C b2 c0 ;

that pjb2 . By continuing in this way, we find that p divides b0 ; b1 ; : : : ; br , which contradicts
the condition that p does not divide am . 2

The last three propositions hold with Z replaced by any unique factorization domain.

R EMARK 1.17 There is an algorithm for factoring a polynomial in QX . To see this,

consider f 2 QX . Multiply f .X / by a rational number so that it is monic, and then
X
replace it by D deg.f / f . D /, with D equal to a common denominator for the coefficients
of f , to obtain a monic polynomial with integer coefficients. Thus we need consider only
polynomials
f .X / D X m C a1 X m 1 C


C am ; ai 2 Z:
From the fundamental theorem of algebra (see 5.6 below), we know that f splits
completely in CX :
m
Y
f .X / D .X i /; i 2 C:
i D1
From the equation
0 D f .i / D im C a1 im 1
C


C am ,
it follows that ji j is less than some bound depending only on the degree and coefficients of
f ; in fact,
ji j  maxf1; mBg, B D max jai j.
Now if g.X / is a monic factor of f .X /, then its roots in C are certain of the i , and its
coefficients are symmetric polynomials in its roots (see p.75). Therefore, the absolute values
of the coefficients of g.X / are bounded in terms of the degree and coefficients of f . Since
they are also integers (by 1.14), we see that there are only finitely many possibilities for
g.X/. Thus, to find the factors of f .X / we (better PARI) have to do only a finite amount of
checking.2
Therefore, we need not concern ourselves with the problem of factoring polynomi-
als in the rings QX or Fp X since PARI knows how to do it. For example, typing
content(6*X^2+18*X-24) in PARI returns 6, and factor(6*X^2+18*X-24) returns
X 1 and X C 4, showing that

6X 2 C 18X 24 D 6.X 1/.X C 4/

2 Ofcourse, there are faster methods than this. The BerlekampZassenhaus algorithm factors the polynomial
over certain suitable finite fields Fp , lifts the factorizations to rings Z=p m Z for some m, and then searches for
factorizations in ZX with the correct form modulo p m .
 Extension fields 13

in QX . Typing factormod(X^2+3*X+3,7) returns X C 4 and X C 6, showing that

X 2 C 3X C 3 D .X C 4/.X C 6/

in F7 X .

R EMARK 1.18 One other observation is useful. Let f 2 ZX . If the leading coefficient of
f is not divisible by a prime p, then a nontrivial factorization f D gh in ZX will give a
nontrivial factorization fx D gxhx in Fp X . Thus, if f .X / is irreducible in Fp X for some
prime p not dividing its leading coefficient, then it is irreducible in ZX . This test is very
useful, but it is not always effective: for example, X 4 10X 2 C 1 is irreducible in ZX but
it is reducible3 modulo every prime p.

Extension fields
A field E containing a field F is called an extension field of F (or simply an extension of
F , and we speak of an extension E=F ). Such an E can be regarded as an F -vector space.
The dimension of E as an F -vector space is called the degree of E over F , and is denote by
EW F . We say that E is finite over F when it has finite degree over F:
When E and E 0 are extension fields of F , an F -homomorphism E ! E 0 is a homo-
morphism 'W E ! E 0 such that '.c/ D c for all c 2 F .

E XAMPLE 1.19 (a) The field of complex numbers C has degree 2 over R (basis f1; i g/:
(b) The field of real numbers R has infinite degree over Q: the field Q is countable,
and so every finite-dimensional Q-vector space is also countable, but a famous argument of
Cantor shows that R is not countable.
(c) The field of Gaussian numbers
def
Q.i / D fa C bi 2 C j a; b 2 Qg

has degree 2 over Q (basis f1; i g).

(d) The field F .X / has infinite degree over F ; in fact, even its subspace F X has
infinite dimension over F (basis 1; X; X 2 ; : : :).

P ROPOSITION 1.20 ( MULTIPLICATIVITY OF DEGREES ) Consider fields L  E  F . Then

L=F is of finite degree if and only if L=E and E=F are both of finite degree, in which case

LW F D LW EEW F :
3 Here is a proof using only that the product of two nonsquares in F is a square, which follows from the
p
fact that Fp is cyclic (see Exercise 1-3). If 2 is a square in Fp , then
p p
X 4 10X 2 C 1 D .X 2 2 2X 1/.X 2 C 2 2X 1/:

If 3 is a square in Fp , then
p p
X4 10X 2 C 1 D .X 2 2 3X C 1/.X 2 C 2 3X C 1/:

If neither 2 nor 3 are squares, 6 will be a square in Fp , and

p p
X4 10X 2 C 1 D .X 2 .5 C 2 6//.X 2 .5 2 6//:

The general study of such polynomials requires nonelementary methods. See, for example, the paper
Brandl, R., Amer. Math. Monthly, 93 (1986), pp286288, which proves that every nonprime integer n  1
occurs as the degree of a polynomial in ZX that is irreducible over Z but reducible modulo all primes:
14 1. BASIC D EFINITIONS AND R ESULTS

P ROOF. If L is of finite degree over F , then it is certainly of finite degree over E. Moreover,
E, being a subspace of a finite dimensional F -vector space, is also finite dimensional.
Thus, assume that L=E and E=F are of finite degree, and let .ei /1i m be a basis for E
as an F -vector space and let .lj /1j n be a basis for L as an E-vector space. To complete
the proof, it suffices to show that .ei lj /1i m;1j n is a basis for L over F , because then
L will be finite over F of the predicted degree.
First, .ei lj /i;j spans L. Let 2 L. Then, because .lj /j spans L as an E-vector space,
P
D j j lj ; some j 2 E;
and because .ei /i spans E as an F -vector space,
P
j D i aij ei ; some aij 2 F :
On putting these together, we find that
P
D i;j aij ei lj :
P
Second, .ei ljP/i;j P
is linearly independent. A linear relation aij ei lj D 0, aij 2 F ,
P be rewritten j . i aij ei /lj D 0. The linear independence of the lj s now shows that
can
i aij ei D 0 for each j , and the linear independence of the ei s shows that each aij D 0.2

The subring generated by a subset

An intersection of subrings of a ring is again a ring. Let F be a subfield of a field E, and let
S be a subset of E. The intersection of all the subrings of E containing F and S is evidently
the smallest subring of E containing both F and S . We call it the subring of E generated
by F and S (or generated over F by S), and we denote pit by F S . When S D f1 ; :::; n g,
we write F 1 ; :::; n for F S . For example, C D R 1.
L EMMA 1.21 The ring F S consists of the elements of E that can be expressed as finite
sums of the form
ai1


in 1i1


nin ; ai1


in 2 F; i 2 S; ij 2 N:
X
(*)
P ROOF. Let R be the set of all such elements. Evidently, R is a subring containing F and S
and contained in every other such subring. Therefore R equals F S . 2

E XAMPLE 1.22 The ring Q,  D 3:14159:::, consists of the real numbers that can be
expressed as a finite sum
a0 C a1  C a2  2 C


C an  n ; ai 2 Q:
The ring Qi consists of the complex numbers of the form a C bi, a; b 2 Q.
Note that the expression of an element in the form (*) will not be unique in general. This
is so already in Ri .
L EMMA 1.23 Let R be an integral domain containing a subfield F (as a subring). If R is
finite dimensional when regarded as an F -vector space, then it is a field.
P ROOF. Let be a nonzero element of R we have to show that has an inverse in R.
The map x 7! xW R ! R is an injective linear map of finite dimensional F -vector spaces,
and is therefore surjective. In particular, there is an element 2 R such that D 1. 2

Note that the lemma applies to subrings (containing F ) of an extension field E of F of

finite degree.
 The subfield generated by a subset 15

The subfield generated by a subset

An intersection of subfields of a field is again a field. Let F be a subfield of a field E, and
let S be a subset of E. The intersection of all the subfields of E containing F and S is
evidently the smallest subfield of E containing both F and S . We call it the subfield of E
generated by F and S (or generated over F by S ), and we denote it F .S /. It is the field of
fractions of F S in E because this is a subfield of E containing F and S and contained
in every other such field. When S D f1 ; :::; n g, we write F .1 ; :::; n / for F .S /. Thus,
F 1 ; : : : ; n consists of all elements of E that can be expressed as polynomials in the i
with coefficients in F , and F .1 ; : : : ; n / consists of all elements of E that can be expressed
as the quotient of two such polynomials.
Lemma 1.23 shows that F S is already a field if it is finite dimensional over F , in which
case F .S / D F S .
E XAMPLE 1.24 The field Q./,  D 3:14 : : :, consists of the complex numbers that can be
expressed as a quotient

g./= h./; g.X /; h.X / 2 QX ; h.X / 0:

The ring Qi is already a field.

An extension E of F is said to be simple if E D F ./ some 2 E. For example, Q./
and Qi are simple extensions of Q:
Let F and F 0 be subfields of a field E. The intersection of the subfields of E containing
both F and F 0 is evidently the smallest subfield of E containing both F and F 0 . We call
it the composite of F and F 0 in E, and we denote it F
F 0 . It can also be described as the
subfield of E generated over F by F 0 , or the subfield generated over F 0 by F :

F .F 0 / D F
F 0 D F 0 .F /.

Construction of some extension fields

Let f .X / 2 F X be a monic polynomial of degree m, and let .f / be the ideal gener-
ated by f . Consider the quotient ring F X =.f .X //, and write x for the image of X in
F X=.f .X //, i.e., x is the coset X C .f .X //. Then:
(a) The map
P .X / 7! P .x/W F X ! F x
is a surjective homomorphism in which f .X / maps to 0. Therefore, f .x/ D 0.
(b) From the division algorithm, we know that each element g of F X =.f / is rep-
resented by a unique polynomial r of degree < m. Hence each element of F x can be
expressed uniquely as a sum
m 1
a0 C a1 x C


C am 1x ; ai 2 F: (*)

(c) To add two elements, expressed in the form (*), simply add the corresponding
coefficients.
(d) To multiply two elements expressed in the form (*), multiply in the usual way, and
use the relation f .x/ D 0 to express the monomials of degree  m in x in terms of lower
degree monomials.
(e) Now assume f .X / is irreducible. Then every nonzero 2 F x has an inverse,
which can be found as follows. Use (b) to write D g.x/ with g.X / a polynomial of degree
16 1. BASIC D EFINITIONS AND R ESULTS

m 1, and use Euclids algorithm in F X to obtain polynomials a.X / and b.X / such
that
a.X /f .X / C b.X /g.X / D d.X /
with d.X / the gcd of f and g. In our case, d.X / is 1 because f .X / is irreducible and
deg g.X / < deg f .X /. When we replace X with x, the equality becomes

b.x/g.x/ D 1:

Hence b.x/ is the inverse of g.x/.

From these observations, we conclude:

1.25 For a monic irreducible polynomial f .X / of degree m in F X ,

def
F x D F X =.f .X //

is a field of degree m over F . Moreover, computations in F x reduce to computations in F .

E XAMPLE 1.26 Let f .X / D X 2 C 1 2 RX . Then Rx has:
elements: a C bx, a; b 2 RI
addition: .a C bx/ C .a0 C b 0 x/ D .a C a0 / C .b C b 0 /xI
multiplication: .a C bx/.a0 C b 0 x/ D .aa0 bb 0 / C .ab 0 C a0 b/x:
We usually write i for x and C for Rx:
E XAMPLE 1.27 Let f .X / D X 3 3X 1 2 QX . We observed in (1.12) that this is
irreducible over Q, and so Qx is a field. It has basis f1; x; x 2 g as a Q-vector space. Let

D x 4 C 2x 3 C 3 2 Qx:

Then using that x 3 3x 1 D 0, we find that D 3x 2 C 7x C 5. Because X 3 3X 1 is

irreducible,
gcd.X 3 3X 1; 3X 2 C 7X C 5/ D 1:
In fact, Euclids algorithm gives
7 29 7 26 28
.X 3 C .3X 2 C 7X C 5/ 2



3X 1/ 37 X C 111 111 X 111 X C 111 D 1:

Hence
7 26 28
.3x 2 C 7x C 5/ 2


111 x 111 x C 111 D 1;
and we have found the inverse of :
We can also do this in PARI: beta=Mod(X^4+2*X^3+3,X^3-3*X-1) reveals that D
7 26 28
3x C 7x C 5 in Qx, and beta^(-1) reveals that 1 D 111
2 x 2 111 x C 111 .

Stem fields
Let f be a monic irreducible polynomial in F X . A pair .E; / consisting of an extension
E of F and an 2 E is called a stem field4 for f if E D F and f ./ D 0. For example,
the pair .E; / with E D F X =.f / D F x and D x is a stem field for f . Let .E; / be
a stem field, and consider the surjective homomorphism of F -algebras

g.X / 7! g./W F X ! E.
4 Following A. Albert, Modern Higher Algebra, 1937, who calls the splitting field of a polynomial its root
field.
 Algebraic and transcendental elements 17

Its kernel is generated by a nonzero monic polynomial, which divides f , and so must equal
it. Therefore the homomorphism defines an F -isomorphism
def
x 7! W F x ! E; F x D F X =.f /.

In other words, the stem field .E; / of f is F -isomorphic to the standard stem field
.F X=.f /; x/. In particular, each element of a stem field .E; / for f has a unique
expression
a0 C a1 C


C am 1 m 1 ; ai 2 F; m D deg.f /,
i.e., 1; ; : : : ; m 1 is an F -basis for F , and arithmetic in F can be performed using
the same rules as in F x. If .E; 0 / is a second stem field for f , then there is a unique
F -isomorphism E ! E 0 sending to 0 . We sometimes write stem field F instead of
stem field .F ; /.

Algebraic and transcendental elements

For a field F and an element of an extension field E, we have a homomorphism

f .X / 7! f ./W F X ! E:

There are two possibilities.

C ASE 1: The kernel of the map is .0/, so that, for f 2 F X ,

f ./ D 0 H) f D 0 (in F X ).

In this case, we say that transcendental over F . The homomorphism X 7! W F X !

F is an isomorphism, and it extends to an isomorphism F .X / ! F ./.
C ASE 2: The kernel is .0/, so that g./ D 0 for some nonzero g 2 F X . In this case,
we say that is algebraic over F . The polynomials g such that g./ D 0 form a nonzero
ideal in F X , which is generated by the monic polynomial f of least degree such f ./ D 0.
We call f the minimum (or minimal) polynomial of over F . It is irreducible, because
otherwise there would be two nonzero elements of E whose product is zero. The minimum
polynomial is characterized as an element of F X by each of the following conditions:
f is monic, f ./ D 0, and f divides every other g in F X such that g./ D 0;
f is the monic polynomial of least degree such that f ./ D 0I
f is monic, irreducible, and f ./ D 0.
Note that g.X / 7! g./ defines an isomorphism F X =.f / ! F . Since the first is a
field, so also is the second:
F ./ D F :
Thus, F is a stem field for f .

E XAMPLE 1.28 Let 2 C be such that 3 3 1 D 0. Then X 3 3X 1 is monic,

irreducible, and has as a root, and so it is the minimum polynomial of over Q. The set
f1; ; 2 g is a basis for Q over Q. The calculations in Example 1.27 show that if is the
element 4 C 2 3 C 3 of Q, then D 3 2 C 7 C 5, and
1 7 2 26 28
D 111 111 C 111 :
18 1. BASIC D EFINITIONS AND R ESULTS

R EMARK 1.29 PARI knows how to compute in Q. For example, factor(X^4+4) re-
turns the factorization

X 4 C 4 D .X 2 2X C 2/.X 2 C 2X C 2/

in QX . Now type nf=nfinit(a^2+2*a+2) to define a number field nf generated over

Q by a root a of X 2 C 2X C 2. Then nffactor(nf,x^4+4) returns the factorization

X 4 C 4 D .X a 2/.X a/.X C a//.X C a C 2/;

in Qa.

A field extension E=F is said to be algebraic, and E is said to be algebraic over F , if

all elements of E are algebraic over F ; otherwise it is said to be transcendental (or E is
said to be transcendental over F ). Thus, E=F is transcendental if at least one element of
E is transcendental over F .

P ROPOSITION 1.30 A field extension E=F is finite if and only if E is algebraic and finitely
generated (as a field) over F .

P ROOF. H): To say that is transcendental over F amounts to saying that its powers
1; ; 2 ; : : : are linearly independent over F . Therefore, if E is finite over F , then it is
algebraic over F . It remains to show that E is finitely generated over F . If E D F , then it
is generated by the empty set. Otherwise, there exists an 1 2 E X F . If E F 1 , there
exists an 2 2 E X F 1 , and so on. Since

F 1 W F < F 1 ; 2 W F <


< EW F

this process terminates.

(H: Let E D F .1 ; :::; n / with 1 ; 2 ; : : : n algebraic over F . The extension F .1 /=F
is finite because 1 is algebraic over F , and the extension F .1 ; 2 /=F .1 / is finite because
2 is algebraic over F and hence over F .1 /. Thus, by (1.20), F .1 ; 2 / is finite over F .
Now repeat the argument. 2

C OROLLARY 1.31 (a) If E is algebraic over F , then every subring R of E containing F is

a field.
(b) If in L  E  F , L is algebraic over E and E is algebraic over F , then L is algebraic
over F:

P ROOF. (a) We observed above (p. 17), that if is algebraic over F , then F is a field. If
2 R, then F  R, and so has an inverse in R.
(b) Every 2 L is a root of a monic polynomial f D X m C am 1 X m 1 C


C a0 2
EX. Now each of the extensions F a0 ; : : : ; am 1 ;  F a0 ; : : : ; am 1  F is finite
(1.20), and so F a0 ; : : : ; am 1 ; is finite (hence algebraic) over F . 2

Transcendental numbers
A complex number is said to be algebraic or transcendental according as it is algebraic or
transcendental over Q. First some history:
1844: Liouville showed that certain numbers, now called Liouville numbers, are tran-
scendental.
1873: Hermite showed that e is transcendental.
 Transcendental numbers 19

1874: Cantor showed that the set of algebraic numbers is countable, but that R is not
countable. Thus most numbers are transcendental (but it is usually very difficult to prove
that any particular number is transcendental).5
1882: Lindemann showed that  is transcendental.
1934: Gelfond and Schneider independently showed that is transcendental if and
are algebraic, 0; 1, and Q. (This was the seventh of Hilberts famous problems.)
2013: Eulers constant
n
!
X
D lim 1=k log n
n!1
kD1

has not yet been proven to be transcendental or even irrational (see Lagarias, Jeffrey C.,
Eulers constant: Eulers work and modern developments. Bull. Amer. Math. Soc. 50
(2013), no. 4, 527628; arXiv:1303:1856).
2013: The numbers e C  and e  are surely transcendental, but again they have not
even been proved to be irrational!
P ROPOSITION 1.32 The set of algebraic numbers is countable.
P ROOF. Define the height h.r/ of a rational number to be max.jmj; jnj/, where r D m=n
is the expression of r in its lowest terms. There are only finitely many rational numbers
with height less than a fixed number N . Let A.N / denote the set of algebraic numbers
whose minimum equation over Q has degree  N and has coefficients of height < N . Then
A.N / is finite for each N . Choose a bijection from some segment 0; n.1/ of N onto A.10/;
extend it to a bijection from a segment 0; n.2/ onto A.100/, and so on. 2
P1
A typical Liouville number is nD0 101n in its decimal expansion there are increas-
ingly long strings of zeros. Since its decimal expansion is not periodic, the number is not
rational. We prove that the analogue of this number in base 2 is transcendental.
T HEOREM 1.33 The number D 21n is transcendental.
P

P ROOF. 6 Suppose not, and let

f .X / D X d C a1 X d 1
C


C ad ; ai 2 Q;

be the minimum polynomial of over Q. Thus QW Q D d . Choose a nonzero integer D

such that D
f .X
P / 2 ZX .
Let N D N 1
nD0 2n so that N ! as N ! 1, and let xN D f .N /. As is not
,
rational, f .X /, being irreducible of degree > 1, has no rational root. Since N , it cant
be a root of f .X /, and so xN 0. Evidently, xN 2 Q; in fact .2N /d DxN 2 Z, and so

j.2N /d DxN j  1. (*)

From the fundamental theorem of algebra (see 5.6 below), we know that f splits in
CX, say,
Yd
f .X / D .X i /; i 2 C; 1 D ;
i D1
5 In1873 Cantor proved the rational numbers countable. . . . He also showed that the algebraic numbers. . .
were countable. However his attempts to decide whether the real numbers were countable proved harder. He
had proved that the real numbers were not countable by December 1873 and published this in a paper in 1874
(MacTutor).
6 This proof, which I learnt from David Masser, also works for
P 1
an
for every integer a  2.
20 1. BASIC D EFINITIONS AND R ESULTS

and so
d
Y
jxN j D jN i j  jN 1 j.N C M /d 1
; where M D maxf1; ji jg.
i 1
i D1

But
1 1
!
X 1 1 X 1 2
jN 1 j D  .N C1/ D :
2 n 2 2n 2.N C1/
nDN C1 nD0

Hence
2
jxN j 
.N C M /d 1
2.N C1/
and
2d
N D
j.2N /d DxN j  2

.N C1/

.N C M /d 1
2
d
N
 d N
which tends to 0 as N ! 1 because 22.N C1/ D 2N2 C1 ! 0. This contradicts (*). 2

Constructions with straight-edge and compass.

The Greeks understood integers and the rational numbers. They p were surprised to find
that the length of the diagonal of a square of side 1, namely, 2, is not rational. They
thus realized that they needed to extend their number system. They then hoped that the
constructible numbers would suffice. Suppose we are given a length, which we call 1, a
straight-edge, and a compass (device for drawing circles). A real number (better a length) is
constructible if it can be constructed by forming successive intersections of
lines drawn through two points already constructed, and
circles with centre a point already constructed and radius a constructed length.
This led them to three famous questions that they were unable to answer: is it possible
to duplicate the cube, trisect an angle, or square the circle by straight-edge and compass
constructions? Well see that the answer to all three is negative.
p
Let F be a subfield of R. For a positive a 2 F , a denotes the positive square root of a
in R. The F -plane is F  F  R  R. We make the following definitions:
An F -line is a line in R  R through two points in the F -plane. These are the
lines given by equations

ax C by C c D 0; a; b; c 2 F:

An F -circle is a circle in R  R with centre an F -point and radius an element

of F . These are the circles given by equations

.x a/2 C .y b/2 D c 2 ; a; b; c 2 F:

L EMMA 1.34 Let L L0 be F -lines, and let C C 0 be F -circles.

(a) L \ L0 D ; or consists of a single F -point.
p
(b) L \ C D ; or consists of one or two points in the F e-plane, some e 2 F , e > 0.
p
(c) C \ C 0 D ; or consists of one or two points in the F e-plane, some e 2 F , e > 0.
P ROOF. The points in the intersection are found by solving the simultaneous equations, and
hence by solving (at worst) a quadratic equation with coefficients in F . 2
 Constructions with straight-edge and compass. 21

c
L EMMA 1.35 (a) If c and d are constructible, then so also are c C d , c, cd , and d
.d 0/.
p
(b) If c > 0 is constructible, then so also is c.

S KETCH OF PROOF. First show that it is possible to construct a line perpendicular to a given
line through a given point, and then a line parallel to a given line through a given point.
Hence it is possible to construct a triangle similar to a given one on a side with given length.
By an astute choice of the triangles, one constructs cd and c 1 . For (b), draw a circle of
radius cC1 cC1
2 and centre . 2 ; 0/, and p draw a vertical line through the point A D .1; 0/ to meet
the circle at P . The length AP is c. (For more details, see Artin, M., 1991, Algebra,
Prentice Hall, Chapter 13, Section 4.) 2

T HEOREM 1.36 (a) The set of constructible numbers is a field.

(b) A number is constructible if and only if it is contained in a subfield of R of the form
p p p p
Q a1 ; : : : ; ar ; ai 2 Q a1 ; : : : ; ai 1 ; ai > 0.

P ROOF. (a) Immediate from (a) of Lemma 1.35.

(b) It follows from Lemma 1.34 that every constructible number is contained in such
p p p p
a field Q a1 ; : : : ; ar . Conversely, if all the elements of Q a1 ; : : : ; ai 1 are con-
p p p
structible, then ai is constructible (by 1.35b), and so all the elements of Q a1 ; : : : ; ai
are constructible (by (a)). Applying this for i D 0; 1; : : :, we find that all the elements of
p p
Q a1 ; : : : ; ar are constructible. 2

C OROLLARY 1.37 If is constructible, then is algebraic over Q, and QW Q is a power

of 2.

P ROOF. According to Proposition 1.20, QW Q divides

p p
Q a1


ar W Q
p p
and Q a1 ; : : : ; ar W Q is a power of 2. 2

C OROLLARY 1.38 It is impossible to duplicate the cube by straight-edge and compass

constructions.

P ROOF. The problem is to construct a cube with volume 2. This requires constructing the
real root of the polynomial X 3 2. But p this polynomial is irreducible (by Eisensteins
criterion 1.16 for example), and so Q 3 2W Q D 3. 2

C OROLLARY 1.39 In general, it is impossible to trisect an angle by straight-edge and

compass constructions.

P ROOF. Knowing an angle is equivalent to knowing the cosine of the angle. Therefore, to
trisect 3, we have to construct a solution to

cos 3 D 4 cos3 3 cos :

For example, take 3 D 60 degrees. As cos 60 D 12 , to construct , we have to solve

8x 3 6x 1 D 0, which is irreducible (apply 1.11). 2

C OROLLARY 1.40 It is impossible to square the circle by straight-edge and compass con-
structions.
22 1. BASIC D EFINITIONS AND R ESULTS

p
P ROOF. A square with the same area as a circle of radius r has side r. Since  is
p
transcendental7 , so also is . 2

We next consider another problem that goes back to the ancient Greeks: list the n such
that the regular n-sided polygon can be constructed. Here we consider the question for a
prime p (see 5.12 for the general case). Note that X p 1 is not irreducible; in fact

Xp 1 D .X 1/.X p 1
C Xp 2
C


C 1/:

L EMMA 1.41 If p is prime, then X p 1 C


C1 is irreducible; hence Qe 2 i=p has degree
p 1 over Q:

P ROOF. Let f .X / D .X p 1/=.X 1/ D X p 1 C


C 1; then

.X C 1/p 1
f .X C 1/ D D Xp 1
C


C a2 X 2 C a1 X C p;
X
p

with ai D i C1 . Now pjai for i D 1; :::; p 2, and so f .X C1/ is irreducible by Eisensteins
criterion 1.16. This implies that f .X / is irreducible. 2

In order to construct a regular p-gon, p an odd prime, we need to construct

2 i 2 i
1
cos 2
p D .e
p C .e p / /=2:

But 2 i
Qe p  Qcos 2
p  Q;
2 i
and the degree of Qe p over Qcos 2
p is 2 the equation

2 i
2 2 cos 2
p
C 1 D 0; De p ;
2 i
shows that it is  2, and it is not 1 because Qe p is not contained in R. Hence
p 1
Qcos 2
p W Q D :
2
Thus, if the regular p-gon is constructible, then .p 1/=2 D 2k for some k (later (5.12),
we shall see a converse), which implies that p D 2kC1 C 1. But 2r C 1 can be a prime only
if r is a power of 2, because otherwise r has an odd factor t and for t odd,

Y t C 1 D .Y C 1/.Y t 1
Yt 2
C


C 1/I

whence
2st C 1 D .2s C 1/..2s /t 1
.2s /t 2
C


C 1/.
Thus primes for which the regular p-gon is constructible are exactly those of the form
k
p D 22 C 1 for some k. Such p are called Fermat primes (because he conjectured
k k
that all numbers of the form 22 C 1 are prime). For k D 0; 1; 2; 3; 4, we have 22 C
1 D 3; 5; 17; 257; 65537, which are indeed all prime, but Euler showed that 232 C 1 D
.641/.6700417/, and we dont know whether there are any more Fermat primes. Thus,
we do not know the list of primes p for which the regular p-gon is constructible.
7 Proofs
of this can be found in many books on number theory, for example, in 11.14 of
Hardy, G. H., and Wright, E. M., An Introduction to the Theory of Numbers, Fourth Edition, Oxford, 1960.
 Algebraically closed fields 23

Gauss showed that8

r
1p p p p p
q q q
2 1 1 1
cos D C 17C 34 2 17C 17 C 3 17 34 2 17 2 34 C 2 17
17 16 16 16 8
when he was 18 years old. This success encouraged him to become a mathematician.

Algebraically closed fields

We say that a polynomial splits in F X (or, more loosely, in F ) if it is a product of
polynomials of degree 1 in F X .

P ROPOSITION 1.42 For a field , the following statements are equivalent:

(a) Every nonconstant polynomial in X splits in X .
(b) Every nonconstant polynomial in X has at least one root in .
(c) The irreducible polynomials in X are those of degree 1.
(d) Every field of finite degree over equals .

P ROOF. The implications (a) H) (b) H) (c) H) (a) are obvious.

(c))(d). Let E be a finite extension of , and let 2 E. The minimum polynomial of
has degree 1, and so 2 .
(d))(c). Let f be an irreducible polynomial in X . Then X =.f / is an extension
field of of degree deg.f / (see 1.30), and so deg.f / D 1. 2

D EFINITION 1.43 (a) A field is said to be algebraically closed if it satisfies the equivalent
statements of Proposition 1.42.
(b) A field is said to be an algebraic closure of a subfield F when it is algebraically
closed and algebraic over F .

For example, the fundamental theorem of algebra (see 5.6 below) says that C is alge-
braically closed. It is an algebraic closure of R.

P ROPOSITION 1.44 If is algebraic over F and every polynomial f 2 F X splits in

X, then is algebraically closed (hence an algebraic closure of F ).

P ROOF. Let f be a nonconstant polynomial in X . We have to show that f has a root in

. We know (see 1.25) that f has a root in some finite extension 0 of . Set

f D an X n C


C a0 ; ai 2 ;

and consider the fields

F  F a0 ; : : : ; an  F a0 ; : : : ; an ; :

Each extension is algebraic and finitely generated, and hence finite (by 1.30). Therefore
lies in a finite extension of F , and so is algebraic over F it is a root of a polynomial g
with coefficients in F . By assumption, g splits in X , and so the roots of g in 0 all lie in
. In particular, 2 : 2
8 Or perhaps that
p p p p p
p q p p
2 1 1 1
cos 17D 16 C 16 17 C 16 34 2 17 C 18 17 C 3 17 2 34 2 17 170 26 17
both expressions are correct.
24 1. BASIC D EFINITIONS AND R ESULTS

P ROPOSITION 1.45 Let  F ; then

f 2 j algebraic over F g

is a field.

P ROOF. If and are algebraic over F , then F ; is a field (by 1.31) of finite degree
over F (by 1.30). Thus, every element of F ; is algebraic over F , including , =,
. 2

The field constructed in the proposition is called the algebraic closure of F in .

C OROLLARY 1.46 Let be an algebraically closed field. For any subfield F of , the
algebraic closure of F in is an algebraic closure of F:

P ROOF. From its definition, we see that it is algebraic over F and every polynomial in F X
splits in it. Now Proposition 1.44 shows that it is an algebraic closure of F . 2

Thus, when we admit the fundamental theorem of algebra (5.6), every subfield of C has
an algebraic closure (in fact, a canonical algebraic closure). Later (Chapter 6) we shall prove
(using the axiom of choice) that every field has an algebraic closure.
A SIDE 1.47 Although various classes of field, for example, number fields and function fields, had
been studied earlier, the first systematic account of the theory of abstract fields was given by Steinitz
in 1910 (Algebraische Theorie der Korper, J. Reine Angew. Math., 137:167309). Here he introduced
the notion of a prime field, distinguished between separable and inseparable extensions, and showed
that every field can be obtained as an algebraic extension of a purely transcendental extension. He
also proved that every field has an algebraic closure, unique up to isomorphism. His work influenced
later algebraists (Noether, van der Waerden, Artin, . . . ) and his article has been described by Bourbaki
as . . . a fundamental work which may be considered as the origin of todays concept of algebra.
See: Roquette, Peter, In memoriam Ernst Steinitz (18711928). J. Reine Angew. Math. 648 (2010),
111.

Exercises
1-1 Let E D Q, where 3 2 C C2 D 0. Express . 2 C C1/. 2 / and . 1/ 1

in the form a 2 C b C c with a; b; c 2 Q.

p p
1-2 Determine Q. 2; 3/W Q.

1-3 Let F be a field, and let f .X / 2 F X .

(a) For every a 2 F , show that there is a polynomial q.X / 2 F X such that

f .X / D q.X /.X a/ C f .a/:

(b) Deduce that f .a/ D 0 if and only if .X a/jf .X /.

(c) Deduce that f .X / can have at most deg f roots.
(d) Let G be a finite abelian group. If G has at most m elements of order dividing m for
each divisor m of .GW 1/, show that G is cyclic.
(e) Deduce that a finite subgroup of F  , F a field, is cyclic.

1-4 Show that with straight-edge, compass, and angle-trisector, it is possible to construct a
regular 7-gon.
 Exercises 25

1-5 Let f .X / be an irreducible polynomial over F of degree n, and let E be a field

extension of F with E W F D m. If gcd.m; n/ D 1, show that f is irreducible over E.

1-6 Show that there does not exist a polynomial f .X / 2 ZX of degree > 1 that is
irreducible modulo p for all primes p.
 C HAPTER 2
Splitting Fields; Multiple Roots

Maps from simple extensions.

Let E and E 0 be fields containing F . Recall that an F -homomorphism is a homomorphism

'W E ! E 0

such that '.a/ D a for all a 2 F . Thus an F -homorphism ' maps a polynomial

ai1


im 1i1


m

X
im
; ai1


im 2 F;

to X
ai1


im '.1 /i1


'.m /im :
An F -isomorphism is a bijective F -homomorphism.
An F -homomorphism E ! E 0 of fields is, in particular, an injective F -linear map
of F -vector spaces, and so, if E and E 0 have the same finite degree over F , then every
F -homomorphism is an F -isomorphism.

P ROPOSITION 2.1 Let F ./ be a simple field extension of a field F , and let be a second
field containing F .
(a) Let be transcendental over F . For every F -homomorphism 'W F ./ ! , './ is
transcendental over F , and the map ' 7! './ defines a one-to-one correspondence

fF -homomorphisms 'W F ./ ! g $ felements of transcendental over F g:

(b) Let be algebraic over F with minimum polynomial f .X /. For every F -homomorphism
'W F ! , './ is a root of f .X / in , and the map ' 7! './ defines a one-to-
one correspondence

fF -homomorphisms 'W F ! g $ froots of f in g:

In particular, the number of such maps is the number of distinct roots of f in .

P ROOF. (a) To say that is transcendental over F means that F is isomorphic to the
polynomial ring in the symbol with coefficients in F . For every 2 , there is a unique
F -homomorphism 'W F ! sending to (see 1.5). This extends to the field of
fractions F ./ of F if and only if all nonzero elements of F are sent to nonzero
elements of , which is so if and only if is transcendental.

27
28 2. S PLITTING F IELDS ; M ULTIPLE ROOTS

(b) Let f .X / DP ai X i , and consider an F -homomorphism

P
'W F ! . On applying
' to the equation ai i D 0, we obtain the equation ai './i D 0, which shows that
P
'./ is a root of f .X / in . Conversely, if 2 is a root of f .X /, then the map
F X ! , g.X / 7! g. /, factors through F X =.f .X //. When composed with the inverse
of the isomorphism X C f .X / 7! W F X =.f .X // ! F , this becomes a homomorphism
F ! sending to . 2

We shall need a slight generalization of this result.

P ROPOSITION 2.2 Let F ./ be a simple field extension of a field F , and let '0 W F ! be
a homomorphism from F into a second field .
(a) If is transcendental over F , then the map ' 7! './ defines a one-to-one correspon-
dence

fextensions 'W F ./ ! of '0 g $ felements of transcendental over '0 .F /g:

(b) If is algebraic over F , with minimum polynomial f .X /, then the map ' 7! './
defines a one-to-one correspondence

fextensions 'W F ! of '0 g $ froots of '0 f in g:

In particular, the number of such maps is the number of distinct roots of '0 f in .
By 'P0 f we mean the polynomial obtained by applying '0 to the coefficients of f :
if f D ai X then '0 f D '.ai /X i . By an extension of '0 to F ./ we mean a
i
P
homomorphism 'W F ./ ! such that 'jF D '0 .
The proof of the proposition is essentially the same as that of the preceding proposition.

Splitting fields
Let f be a polynomial with Q coefficients in F . A field E containing F is said to split f if f
splits in EX : f .X / D m i D1 .X i / with i 2 E. If, in addition, E is generated by the
roots of f ,
E D F 1 ; : : : ; m ;
then it is called a splitting or root field for f . Note that fi .X /mi (mi  1) and fi .X /
Q Q
have the same splitting fields. Also, that if f has deg.f / 1 roots in E, then it splits in
EX (because the sum of the roots can be expressed in terms of the coefficients of f and so
lies in F ).
p
E XAMPLE 2.3 (a) Let f .X / D aX 2 C bX C c 2 QX , and let D b 2 4ac. The sub-
field Q of C is a splitting field for f .
(b) Let f .X / D X 3 C aX 2 C bX C c 2 QX be irreducible, and let 1 ; 2 ; 3 be its
roots in C. Since the nonreal roots of f occur in conjugate pairs, either 1 or 3 of the i are
real. Then Q1 ; 2 ; 3 D Q1 ; 2 is a splitting field for f .X /. Note that Q1 W Q D 3
and that Q1 ; 2 W Q1 D 1 or 2, and so Q1 ; 2 W Q D 3 or 6. Well see later (4.2) that
the degree is 3 if and only if the discriminant of f .X / is a square in Q. For example, the
discriminant of X 3 C bX C c is 4b 3 27c 2 , and so the splitting field of X 3 C 10X C 1
has degree 6 over Q.
P ROPOSITION 2.4 Every polynomial f 2 F X has a splitting field Ef , and

Ef W F  .deg f / .factorial deg f /:

 Splitting fields 29

P ROOF. Let F1 D F 1 be a stem field for some monic irreducible factor of f in F X .

Then f .1 / D 0, and we let F2 D F1 2 be a stem field for some monic irreducible factor
of f .X /=.X 1 / in F1 X . Continuing in this fashion, we arrive at a splitting field Ef .
Let n D deg f . Then F1 W F D deg g1  n, F2 W F1  n 1; :::, and so Ef W E  n. 2

R EMARK 2.5 Let F be a field. For a given integer n, there may or may not exist polynomials
of degree n in F X whose splitting field has degree n this depends on F . For example,
there do not for n > 1 if F D C (see 5.6), nor for n > 2 if F D Fp (see 4.22) or F D R.
However, later (4.33) we shall see how to write down infinitely many polynomials of degree
n in QX whose splitting fields have degree n.

E XAMPLE 2.6 (a) Let f .X / D .X p 1/=.X 1/ 2 QX , p prime. If  is one root of f ,

then the remaining roots are  2 ;  3 ; : : : ;  p 1 , and so the splitting field of f is Q.
(b) Suppose F is of characteristic p, and let f D X p X a 2 F X . If is one root
of f , then the remaining roots are C 1; :::; C p 1, and so any field generated over F by
is a splitting field for f (and F ' F X =.f / if f is irreducible).
(c) If is one root of X n a, then the remaining roots are all of the form , where
 D 1. Therefore, if F contains all the nth roots of 1 (by which we mean that X n 1 splits
n

in F X ), then F is a splitting field for X n a. Note that if p is the characteristic of F ,

then X p 1 D .X 1/p , and so F automatically contains all the pth roots of 1.

P ROPOSITION 2.7 Let f 2 F X . Let E be a field generated over F by roots of f , and let
be a field containing F in which f splits.
(a) There exists an F -homomorphism 'W E ! ; the number of such homomorphisms is
at most EW F , and equals EW F if f has distinct roots in .
(b) If E and are both splitting fields for f , then each F -homomorphism E ! is an
isomorphism. In particular, any two splitting fields for f are F -isomorphic.
Qdeg.f /
To say that f splits in means that f .X / D a i D1 .X i / with 1 ; 2 ; : : : 2 ; to say
that f has distinct roots in means that i j if i j .

P ROOF. We begin with an observation: let F , f , and be as in the statement of the

proposition, let L be a subfield of containing F , and let g be a factor of f in LX ; then g
divides f in X and so (by unique factorization in X ), g is product of certain number
of the factors X i of f in X ; in particular, we see that g splits in , and that its roots
are distinct if the roots of f are distinct.
(a) By assumption, E D F 1 ; :::; m with the i (some of the) roots of f .X /. The
minimum polynomial of 1 is an irreducible polynomial f1 dividing f , and deg.f1 / D
F 1 W F . From the initial observation with L D F , we see that f1 splits in , and that
its roots are distinct if the roots of f are distinct. According to Proposition 2.1, there exists
an F -homomorphism '1 W F 1 ! , and the number of such homomorphisms is at most
F 1 W F , with equality holding when f has distinct roots in .
The minimum polynomial of 2 over F 1 is an irreducible factor f2 of f in F 1 X .
On applying the initial observation with L D '1 F 1 and g D '1 f2 , we see that '1 f2 splits
in , and that its roots are distinct if the roots of f are distinct. According to Proposition
2.2, each '1 extends to a homomorphism '2 W F 1 ; 2 ! , and the number of extensions
is at most F 1 ; 2 W F 1 , with equality holding when f has distinct roots in :
On combining these statements we conclude that there exists an F -homomorphism

'W F 1 ; 2 ! ;
30 2. S PLITTING F IELDS ; M ULTIPLE ROOTS

and that the number of such homomorphisms is at most F 1 ; 2 W F , with equality holding
if f has distinct roots in :
After repeating the argument m times, we obtain (a).
(b) Every F -homomorphism E ! is injective, and so, if there exists such a ho-
momorphism, then EW F  W F . If E and are both splitting fields for f , then (a)
shows that there exist homomorphism F  E, and so EW F D W F . Therefore, every
F -homomorphism E ! is an isomorphism. 2

C OROLLARY 2.8 Let E and L be extension fields of F , with E finite over F .

(a) The number of F -homomorphisms E ! L is at most EW F .
(b) There exists a finite extension =L and an F -homomorphism E ! :
P ROOF. Write E D F 1 ; : : : ; m , and f be the product of the minimum polynomials of the
i . Let be a splitting field for f regarded as an element of LX . The proposition shows
that there exists an F -homomorphism E ! , and the number of such homomorphisms is
 EW F . This proves (b), and since an F -homomorphism E ! L can be regarded as an
F -homomorphism E ! , it also proves (a). 2

R EMARK 2.9 (a) Let E1 ; E2 ; : : : ; Em be finite extensions of F , and let L be an extension of

F . The corollary shows that there exists a finite extension L1 =L containing an isomorphic
image of E1 ; then that there exists a finite extension L2 =L1 containing an isomorphic
image of E2 . On continuing in this fashion, we find that there exists a finite extension /L
containing an isomorphic copy of every Ei .
(b) Let f 2 F X . If E and E 0 are both splitting fields of f , then we know there is an
F -isomorphism E ! E 0 , but there will in general be no preferred such isomorphism. Error
and confusion can result if the fields are simply identified. Also, it makes no sense to speak
of the field F generated by a root of f unless f is irreducible (the fields generated
by the roots of two different factors are unrelated). Even when f is irreducible, it makes
no sense to speak of the field F ; generated by two roots ; of f (the extensions of
F generated by the roots of two different factors of f in F X may be very different).

Multiple roots
Let f; g 2 F X . Even when f and g have no common factor in F X , one might expect
that they could acquire a common factor in X for some  F . In fact, this doesnt
happen greatest common divisors dont change when the field is extended.

P ROPOSITION 2.10 Let f and g be polynomials in F X , and let be an extension of F .

If r.X/ is the gcd of f and g computed in F X , then it is also the gcd of f and g in X .
In particular, distinct monic irreducible polynomials in F X do not acquire a common root
in any extension field of F:
P ROOF. Let rF .X / and r .X / be the greatest common divisors of f and g in F X and
X respectively. Certainly rF .X /jr .X / in X , but Euclids algorithm (1.8) shows
that there are polynomials a and b in F X such that

a.X /f .X / C b.X /g.X / D rF .X /;

and so r .X / divides rF .X / in X .
For the second statement, note that the hypotheses imply that gcd.f; g/ D 1 (in F X ),
and so f and g cant acquire a common factor in any extension field. 2
 Multiple roots 31

The proposition allows us to speak of the greatest common divisor of f and g without
reference to a field.
Let f 2 F X . Then f splits into linear factors
r
Y r
X
mi
f .X / D a .X i / ; i distinct, mi  1, mi D deg.f /; (*)
i D1 i D1

in X for some extension field of F (see 2.4). We say that i is a root of f of

multiplicity mi in . If mi > 1, i is said to be a multiple root of f , and otherwise it is a
simple root.
The unordered sequence of integers m1 ; : : : ; mr in (*) is independent of the extension
field chosen to split f . Certainly, it is unchanged when is replaced with its subfield
F 1 ; : : : ; m , but F 1 ; : : : ; m is a splitting field for f , and any two splitting fields are
F -isomorphic (2.7b). We say that f has a multiple root when at least one of the mi > 1,
and we say that f has only simple roots when all mi D 1.
We wish to determine when a polynomial has a multiple root. If f has a multiple factor
, say f D fi .X /mi with some mi > 1, then obviously it will have a multiple root.
Q
in F X Q
If f D fi with the fi distinct monic irreducible polynomials, then Proposition 2.10 shows
that f has a multiple root if and only if at least one of the fi has a multiple root. Thus, it
suffices to determine when an irreducible polynomial has a multiple root.

E XAMPLE 2.11 Let F be of characteristic p 0, and assume that F contains an element a

that is not a pth-power, for example, a D T in the field Fp .T /: Then X p a is irreducible
1:4
in F X , but X p a D .X /p in its splitting field. Thus an irreducible polynomial can
have multiple roots.

The derivative of a polynomial f .X / D ai X i is defined to be f 0 .X / D i ai X i 1 .

P P
When f has coefficients in R, this agrees with the definition in calculus. The usual rules for
differentiating sums and products still hold, but note that in characteristic p the derivative of
X p is zero.

P ROPOSITION 2.12 For a nonconstant irreducible polynomial f in F X , the following

statements are equivalent:
(a) f has a multiple root;
(b) gcd.f; f 0 / 1;
(c) F has nonzero characteristic p and f is a polynomial in X p ;
(d) all the roots of f are multiple.

P ROOF. (a) ) (b). Let be a multiple root of f , and write f D .X /m g.X /, m > 1, in
some field splitting f . Then

f 0 .X / D m.X /m 1
g.X / C .X /m g 0 .X /: (1)

Hence f and f 0 have X as a common factor.

(b) ) (c). As f is irreducible and deg.f 0 / < deg.f /,

gcd.f; f 0 / 1 H) f 0 D 0:

But, because f is nonconstant, f 0 can be zero only if F has nonzero characteristic p and f
is a polynomial in X p .
32 2. S PLITTING F IELDS ; M ULTIPLE ROOTS

(c) ) (d). Suppose f .X / D g.X p /, and let g.X / D i .X ai /mi in some field
Q
splitting f . Then
Y Y
f .X / D g.X p / D .X p ai /mi D .X i /pmi
i i
p
where i D ai . Hence every root of f .X / has multiplicity at least p.
(d) ) (a). Obvious. 2

P ROPOSITION 2.13 For a nonconstant polynomial f in F X , the following statements are

equivalent:
(a) gcd.f; f 0 / D 1;
(b) has only simple roots (in any field splitting f ).

P ROOF. Let be an extension of F splitting f . From (1) we see that a root of f in is

multiple if and only if it is also a root of f 0 .
If gcd.f; f 0 / D 1, then f and f 0 have no common factor in X (see 2.10). In
particular, they have no common root, and so the roots of f are all simple.
If f has only simple roots, then gcd.f; f 0 / must be the constant polynomial, because
otherwise it would have a root in which would then be a common root of f and f 0 . 2

D EFINITION 2.14 A polynomial is separable if it has only simple roots (in any field splitting
the polynomial).1

Thus a nonconstant irreducible polynomial f is not separable if and only if F has

nonzero characteristic p and f is a polynomial in X p (see 2.12). A Q nonconstant polynomial
f is separable if and only if gcd.f; f 0 / D 1 (see 2.13). Let f D fi with f and the fi
monic and the fi irreducible; then f is separable if and only if the fi are distinct and
separable. If f is separable as a polynomial in F X , then it is separable as a polynomial in
X for every field containing F .

D EFINITION 2.15 A field F is said to be perfect if every irreducible polynomial in F X is

separable.

P ROPOSITION 2.16 A field F is perfect if and only if

(a) F has characteristic zero, or
(b) F has nonzero characteristic p and every element of F is a pth power.

P ROOF. A field of characteristic zero is obviously perfect, and so we may suppose F has
characteristic p 0. If F contains an element a that is not a pth power, then X p a is
irreducible in F X but not separable (see 2.11). Conversely, if every element of F is a pth
power, then every polynomial in X p with coefficients in F is a pth power in F X ,

p p
ai X ip D bi X i
P P
if ai D bi ,

and so it is not irreducible. 2

E XAMPLE 2.17 (a) A finite field F is perfect, because the Frobenius endomorphism
a 7! ap W F ! F is injective and therefore surjective (by counting).
1 This
is Bourbakis definition. Often (e.g., in the books of Jacobson and in earlier versions of these notes) a
polynomial f is said to be separable if none of its irreducible factors has a multiple root.
 Exercises 33

(b) A field that can be written as a union of perfect fields is perfect. Therefore, every field
algebraic over Fp is perfect.
(c) Every algebraically closed field is perfect.
(d) If F0 has characteristic p 0, then F D F0 .X / is not perfect, because X is not a pth
power.

Exercises
2-1 Let F be a field of characteristic 2.
(a) Let E be quadratic extension of F (i.e., EW F D 2); show that

S.E/ D fa 2 F  j a is a square in Eg

is a subgroup of F  containing F 2 .
(b) Let E and E 0 be quadratic extensions of F ; show that there is an F -isomorphism
'W E ! E 0 if and only if S.E/ D S.E 0 /.
(c) Show that there is an infinite sequence of fields E1 ; E2 ; : : : with Ei a quadratic
extension of Q such that Ei is not isomorphic to Ej for i j .
(d) Let p be an odd prime. Show that, up to isomorphism, there is exactly one field with
p 2 elements.

2-2 (a) Let F be a field of characteristic p. Show that if X p X a is reducible in F X ,

then it splits into distinct factors in F X .
(b) For every prime p, show that X p X 1 is irreducible in QX .

2-3 Construct a splitting field for X 5 2 over Q. What is its degree over Q?
m
2-4 Find a splitting field of X p 1 2 Fp X . What is its degree over Fp ?

2-5 Let f 2 F X , where F is a field of characteristic 0. Let d.X / D gcd.f; f 0 /. Show

that g.X / D f .X /d.X / 1 has the same roots as f .X /, and these are all simple roots of
g.X/.

2-6 Let f .X / be an irreducible polynomial in F X , where F has characteristic p. Show

e
that f .X / can be written f .X / D g.X p / where g.X / is irreducible and separable. Deduce
that every root of f .X / has the same multiplicity p e in any splitting field.
 C HAPTER 3
The Fundamental Theorem of Galois
Theory

In this chapter, we prove the fundamental theorem of Galois theory, which gives a one-to-one
correspondence between the subfields of the splitting field of a separable polynomial f and
the subgroups of the Galois group of f .

Groups of automorphisms of fields

Consider fields E  F . An F -isomorphism E ! E is called an F -automorphism of E.
The F -automorphisms of E form a group, which we denote Aut.E=F /.

E XAMPLE 3.1 (a) There are two obvious automorphisms of C, namely, the identity map
and complex conjugation. Well see later (9.18) that by using the Axiom of Choice one can
construct uncountably many more.
(b) Let E D C.X /. An automorphism of E sends X to another generator of E over
aX Cb
C. It follows from (9.24) below that these are exactly the elements cX Cd
, ad bc 0.
 
aX Cb
Therefore Aut.E=C/ consists of the maps f .X / 7! f cX Cd
, ad bc 0, and so

Aut.E=C/ ' PGL2 .C/;

the group of invertible 2  2 matrices with complex coefficients modulo its centre. Analysts
will note that this is the same as the automorphism group of the Riemann sphere. This is not a
coincidence: the field of meromorphic functions on the Riemann sphere P1C is C.z/ ' C.X /,
and so there is certainly a map Aut.P1C / ! Aut.C.z/=C/, which one can show to be an
isomorphism.
(c) The group Aut.C.X1 ; X2 /=C/ is quite complicated there is a map

PGL3 .C/ D Aut.P2C / ,! Aut.C.X1 ; X2 /=C/;

but this is very far from being surjective. When there are more X s, the group is not known.
The group Aut.C.X1 ; : : : ; Xn /=C/ is the group of birational automorphisms of PnC , and is
called the Cremona group. Its study is part of algebraic geometry. See the Wikipedia.

In this section, we shall be concerned with the groups Aut.E=F / when E is a finite
extension of F .

35
36 3. T HE F UNDAMENTAL T HEOREM OF G ALOIS T HEORY

P ROPOSITION 3.2 If E is a splitting field of a separable polynomial f 2 F X , then

Aut.E=F / has order EW F :
P ROOF. As f is separable, it has deg f distinct roots in its splitting field E. Now Proposition
2.7 shows that there are EW F distinct F -homomorphisms E ! E. Because E has finite
degree over F , they are automatically isomorphisms. 2

E XAMPLE 3.3 (a) Consider a simple extension E D F , and let f be a polynomial with
coefficients in F phaving as a root. If f has no root in E other than
p , then Aut.E=F / D 1:
3 3
For example, if 2 denotes the real cube root of 2, then Aut.Q 2=Q/ D 1. Thus, in the
proposition, it is essential that E be a splitting field.
(b) Let F be a field of characteristic p 0, and let a be an element of F that is not a pth
power. Then f D X p a has only one root in a splitting field E, and so Aut.E=F / D 1.
Thus, in the proposition, it is essential that E be a splitting field of a separable polynomial.
When G is a group of automorphisms of a field E, we set
E G D Inv.G/ D f 2 E j  D , all  2 Gg:
It is a subfield of E, called the subfield of G-invariants of E or the fixed field of G.
In this section, we shall show that, when E is the splitting field of a separable polynomial
in F X and G D Aut.E=F /, then the maps
M 7! Aut.E=M /; H 7! Inv.H /
give a one-to-one correspondence between the set of intermediate fields M , F  M  E,
and the set of subgroups H of G.
T HEOREM 3.4 (E. A RTIN ) Let G be a finite group of automorphisms of a field E, and let
F D E G ; then EW F  .GW 1/:
P ROOF. Let G D f1 D 1; : : : ; m g. It suffices to show that every set f1 ; : : : ; n g of elements
of E with n > m is linearly dependent over F . For such a set, consider the system of linear
equations
1 .1 /X1 C


C 1 .n /Xn D 0
::
: (*)
m .1 /X1 C


C m .n /Xn D 0
with coefficients in E. There are m equations and n > m unknowns, and hence there are
nontrivial solutions in E. We choose one .c1 ; : : : ; cn / having the fewest possible nonzero
elements. After renumbering the i s, we may suppose that c1 0, and then (after multiply-
ing by a scalar) that c1 2 F . With these normalizations, well show that all ci 2 F . Then the
first equation
1 c1 C


C n cn D 0
(recall that 1 D 1) will be a linear relation on the i .
If not all ci are in F , then k .ci / ci for some k 1 and i 1. On applying k to the
equations
1 .1 /c1 C


C 1 .n /cn D 0
::
:
m .1 /c1 C


C m .n /cn D 0
 Separable, normal, and Galois extensions 37

and using that fk 1 ; : : : ; k m g is a permutation of f1 ; : : : ; m g, we find that

.c1 ; k .c2 /; : : : ; k .ci /; : : :/

is also a solution to the system of equations (*). On subtracting it from the first, we obtain a
solution .0; : : : ; ci k .ci /; : : :/, which is nonzero (look at the ith coordinate), but has more
zeros than the first solution (look at the first coordinate) contradiction. 2

C OROLLARY 3.5 For any finite group G of automorphisms of a field E,

G D Aut.E=E G /:

P ROOF. As G  Aut.E=E G /, we have inequalities

3.4 2.8a
EW E G  .GW 1/  .Aut.E=E G /W 1/  EW E G :

These must be equalities, and so G D Aut.E=E G /: 2

Separable, normal, and Galois extensions

D EFINITION 3.6 An algebraic extension E=F is said to be separable if the minimum
polynomial of every element of E is separable; otherwise, it is inseparable.

Thus, an algebraic extension E=F is separable if every irreducible polynomial in F X

having a root in E is separable, and it is inseparable if
F is nonperfect, and in particular has characteristic p 0, and
there is an element of E whose minimum polynomial is of the form g.X p /, g 2
F X .
For example, E D Fp .T / is an inseparable extension of Fp .T p /:

D EFINITION 3.7 An algebraic extension E=F is normal if the minimum polynomial of

every element of E splits in EX .

In other words, an algebraic extension E=F is normal if every irreducible polynomial

f 2 F X having a root in E splits in EX .
Let f be an irreducible polynomial of degree m in F X . If f has a root in E, then

E=F separable H) roots of f distinct
H) f has m distinct roots in E:
E=F normal H) f splits in E

Therefore, E=F is normal and separable if and only if, for each 2 E, the minimum
polynomial of has F W F distinct roots in E.
p
E XAMPLE 3.8 p (a) The polynomial X 3 2 has one real root 3 2 and two nonreal roots.
Therefore Q 3 2 is separable but not normal over Q.
(b) The field Fp .T / is normal but not separable over Fp .T p / the minimum polynomial
of T is the inseparable polynomial X p T p .

D EFINITION 3.9 Let F be a field. A finite extension E of F is said to be Galois if F is

the fixed field of the group of F -automorphisms of E. This group is then called the Galois
group of E over F , and it is denoted by Gal.E=F /.
38 3. T HE F UNDAMENTAL T HEOREM OF G ALOIS T HEORY

T HEOREM 3.10 For an extension E=F , the following statements are equivalent:
(a) E is the splitting field of a separable polynomial f 2 F X ;
(b) E is Galois over F ;
(c) F D E G for some finite group G of automorphisms of E;
(d) E is normal, separable, and of finite degree over F ;

P ROOF. (a) ) (b). Let G D Aut.E=F /, and let F 0 D E G  F . We have to show that
F 0 D F . Note that E is also the splitting field of f regarded as a polynomial with coefficients
in F 0 , and f is still separable when it is regarded in this way. Hence

Aut.E=F 0 / 3.2 3.2

D EW F 0  EW F D jAut.E=F /j :

According to Corollary 3.5, Aut.E=F 0 / D G D Aut.E=F /, and so EW F 0 D EW F . Hence

F D F 0.
(b) ) (c). Let G D Gal.E=F /. Then F D E G , and G is finite because E is finite over
F (apply 2.8a).
(c) ) (d). By Proposition 3.4, we know that EW F  .GW 1/; in particular, it is finite.
Let 2 E, and let f be the minimum polynomial of ; we have to show that f splits into
distinct factors in EX . Let f1 D ; :::; m g be the orbit of under the action of G on E,
and let Ym
g.X / D .X i / D X m C a1 X m 1 C


C am :
i D1
The coefficients ai are symmetric polynomials in the i , and each  2 G permutes the i ,
and so  ai D ai for all i . Thus g.X / 2 F X . As it is monic and g./ D 0, it is divisible
by the minimum polynomial f (see the definition p. 17). Let i D  ; on applying  to
the equation f ./ D 0 we find that f .i / D 0. Therefore every i is a root of f , and we
conclude that g divides f . Hence f D g, and so f .X / splits into distinct factors in E.
(d) ) (a). Because E has finite degree over F , it is generated over F by a finite number
of elements, say, E D F 1 ; :::; m , i 2 E, i algebraic over F . Let fi be the minimum
polynomial of i over F , and let f be the product of the distinct fi . Because E is normal
over F , each fi splits in E, and so E is the splitting field of f: Because E is separable over
F , each fi is separable, and so f is separable. 2

R EMARK 3.11 (a) Let E be Galois over F with Galois group G, and let 2 E. The
elements 1 , 2 ; :::; m of the orbit of under G are called the conjugates of . In the
course of proving Q (c) implies (d) in the above theorem we showed that the minimum
polynomial of is .X i /:
(b) Let G be a finite group of automorphisms of a field E. Then E=E G satisfies the
equivalent conditions of Theorem 3.10. Corollary 3.5 shows that G D Gal.E=E G / and
Proposition 3.2 shows that EW E G D j Gal.E=E G /j.

C OROLLARY 3.12 Every finite separable extension E of F is contained in a finite Galois

extension.

P ROOF. Let E D F 1 ; :::; m , and let fi be the minimum polynomial of i over F . The
product of the distinct fi is a separable polynomial iin F X whose splitting field is a Galois
extension of F containing E. 2

C OROLLARY 3.13 Let E  M  F ; if E is Galois over F , then it is Galois over M:

 The fundamental theorem of Galois theory 39

P ROOF. We know E is the splitting field of some separable f 2 F X ; it is also the splitting
field of f regarded as an element of M X : 2

R EMARK 3.14 When we drop the assumption that E is separable over F , we can still say
something. An element of an algebraic extension of F is said to be separable over F if
its minimum polynomial over F is separable. The proof of Corollary 3.12 shows that every
finite extension generated by separable elements is separable. Therefore, the elements of a
finite extension E of F that are separable over F form a subfield Esep of E that is separable
over F ; write EW F sep D Esep W F (separable degree of E over F /. If is an algebraically
closed field containing F , then every F -homomorphism Esep ! extends uniquely to E,
and so the number of F -homomorphisms E ! is EW F sep . When E  M  F (finite
extensions),
EW F sep D EW M sep M W F sep :
In particular,

E is separable over F E is separable over M and M is separable over F:

See Jacobson 1964, I 10, for more details.

D EFINITION 3.15 A finite extension E  F is called a cyclic, abelian, ..., solvable exten-
sion if it is Galois and its Galois group is cyclic, abelian, ..., solvable Galois group.

The fundamental theorem of Galois theory

T HEOREM 3.16 (F UNDAMENTAL THEOREM OF G ALOIS THEORY ) Let E be a Galois ex-
tension of F , and let G D Gal.E=F /. The maps H 7! E H and M 7! Gal.E=M / are inverse
bijections between the set of subgroups of G and the set of intermediate fields between E
and F :
fsubgroups of Gg $ fintermediate fields F  M  Eg:
Moreover,
(a) the correspondence is inclusion-reversing: H1  H2 E H1  E H2 I
(b) indexes equal degrees: .H1 W H2 / D E H2 W E H1 ;
1 1
(c) H $ M , i.e., E H D  .E H /; Gal.E=M / D  Gal.E=M / 1:

(d) H is normal in G E H is normal (hence Galois) over F , in which case

Gal.E H =F / ' G=H:

P ROOF. For the first statement, we have to show that H 7! E H and M 7! Gal.E=M / are
inverse maps.
Let H be a subgroup of G. Then, as we observed in (3.11b), Gal.E=E H / D H:
Let M be an intermediate field. Then E is Galois over M by (3.13), which means that
E Gal.E=M /DM.

(a) We have the obvious implications:

H1  H2 H) E H1  E H2 H) Gal.E=E H1 /  Gal.E=E H2 /:

But Gal.E=E Hi / D Hi .
40 3. T HE F UNDAMENTAL T HEOREM OF G ALOIS T HEORY

(b) As we observed in (3.11b), for every subgroup H of G, EW E H D .Gal.E=E H /W 1/.

This proves (b) in the case H2 D 1, and the general case follows, using that

.H1 W 1/ D .H1 W H2 /.H2 W 1/ and EW E H1 D EW E H2 E H2 W E H1 :

(c) For  2 G and 2 E,  D    1 . / D  . Therefore, Gal.E=M / D

 Gal.E=M / 1 , and so  Gal.E=M / 1 $ M:
(d) Let H be a normal subgroup of G. Because H 1 D H for all  2 G, we must
have E H D E H for all  2 G, i.e., the action of G on E stabilizes E H . We therefore have
a homomorphism
 7! jE H W G ! Aut.E H =F /
whose kernel is H . As .E H /G=H D F , we see that E H is Galois over F (by Theorem 3.10)
and that G=H ' Gal.E H =F / (by 3.11b).
Conversely, assume that M is normal over F , and write M D F 1 ; :::; m . For  2 G,
i is a root of the minimum polynomial of i over F , and so lies in M . Hence M D M ,
and this implies that H 1 D H (by (c)). 2

R EMARK 3.17 The theorem shows that there is an order reversing bijection between the
intermediate fields of E=F and the subgroups of G. Using this we can read off more results.
(a) Let M1 ; M2 ; : : : ; Mr be intermediate fields, and let Hi be the subgroup corresponding
to Mi (i.e., Hi D Gal.E=Mi /). Then (by definition) M1 M2


Mr is the smallest field
T all Mi ; hence it must correspond to the largest subgroup contained in all Hi ,
containing
which is Hi . Therefore

Gal.E=M1


Mr / D H1 \ ::: \ Hr :

(b) Let HTbe a subgroup of G and let M D E H . The largest normal subgroup contained
in H is N D  2G H 1 (see GT 4.10), and so E N , which is the composite of the fields
M , is the smallest normal extension of F containing M . It is called the normal, or Galois,
closure of M in E.

P ROPOSITION 3.18 Let E and L be field extensions of F contained in some common field.
If E=F is Galois, then EL=L and E=E \ L are Galois, and the map

 7! jEW Gal.EL=L/ ! Gal.E=E \ L/

is an isomorphism.

P ROOF. Because E is Galois over F , it is the splitting field of a separable polynomial

f 2 F X . Then EL is the splitting field of f over L, and E is the splitting
field of f over E \ L. Hence EL=L and E=E \ L are Galois. Every EL
automorphism  of EL fixing the elements of L maps roots of f to roots D
of f , and so E D E. There is therefore a homomorphism
E L
 7! jEW Gal.EL=L/ ! Gal.E=E \ L/. D

E \L
If  2 Gal.EL=L/ fixes the elements of E, then it fixes the elements of
EL, and hence is 1. Thus,  7!  jE is injective. If 2 E is fixed by all
 2 Gal.EL=L/, then 2 L \ E. By the fundamental theorem, F
this implies that the image of  7! jE is Gal.E=E \ L/. 2
 Examples 41

C OROLLARY 3.19 Suppose, in the proposition, that L is finite over F . Then

EW F LW F
ELW F D .
E \ LW F
P ROOF. According to Proposition 1.20,

ELW F D ELW LLW F ;

but
3:18 1:20 EW F
ELW L D EW E \ L D .
E \ LW F 2

P ROPOSITION 3.20 Let E1 and E2 be field extensions of F contained in some common

field. If E1 and E2 are Galois over F , then E1 E2 and E1 \ E2 are Galois over F , and

 7! . jE1 ;  jE2 /W Gal.E1 E2 =F / ! Gal.E1 =F / Gal.E2 =F /

is an isomorphism of Gal.E1 E2 =F / onto the subgroup

H D f.1 ; 2 / j 1 jE1 \ E2 D 2 jE1 \ E2 g

of Gal.E1 =F / Gal.E2 =F /.

P ROOF : Let a 2 E1 \ E2 , and let f be its minimum polynomial over F . Then f has
deg f distinct roots in E1 and deg f distinct roots in E2 . Since f
can have at most deg f roots in E1 E2 , it follows that it has deg f E1 E2
distinct roots in E1 \ E2 . This shows that E1 \ E2 is normal and
separable over F , and hence Galois (3.10). As E1 and E2 are
E1 E2
Galois over F , they are splitting fields of separable polynomials
f1 ; f2 2 F X . Now E1 E2 is a splitting field for f1 f2 , and hence
it also is Galois over F . The map  7! . jE1 ;  jE2 / is clearly E1 \ E2
an injective homomorphism, and its image is contained in H . We
prove that the image is the whole of H by counting. F
From the fundamental theorem,

Gal.E2 =F /= Gal.E2 =E1 \ E2 / ' Gal.E1 \ E2 =F /,

and so, for each 1 2 Gal.E1 =F /, 1 jE1 \ E2 has exactly E2 W E1 \ E2 extensions to an

element of Gal.E2 =F /. Therefore,

E1 W F
E2 W F
.H W 1/ D E1 W F E2 W E1 \ E2 D ;
E1 \ E2 W F

which equals E1 E2 W F by (3.19): 

Examples
E XAMPLE 3.21 We analyse the extension Q=Q, where  is a primitive 7th root of 1, say
 D e 2 i=7 .
42 3. T HE F UNDAMENTAL T HEOREM OF G ALOIS T HEORY

Note that Q is the splitting field of the polyno-

mial X 7 1, and that  has minimum polynomial

X6 C X5 C X4 C X3 C X2 C X C 1
Q
(see 1.41). Therefore, Q is Galois of degree
h 3 i h 2 i
6 over Q. For any  2 Gal.Q=Q/,   D  i ,
p
some i, 1  i  6, and the map  7! i defines an Q C  x Q 7
isomorphism Gal.Q=Q/ ! .Z=7Z/ . Let  be
the element of Gal.Q=Q/ such that   D  3 . h i=h 3 i h i=h 2 i
Then  generates Gal.Q=Q/ because the class
of 3 in .Z=7Z/ generates it (the powers of 3 mod Q
7 are 3; 2; 6; 4; 5; 1). We investigate the subfields
of Q corresponding to the subgroups h 3 i and
h 2 i.
Note that  3  D  6 D x (complex conjugate of /, and so  C x D 2 cos 2 7 is fixed by
3i 3i
3
 . Now Q  Q h x Q, and so Q
 Q C  h D Q C  x (look at degrees). As
x
h i is a normal subgroup of hi, Q C  is Galois over Q, with Galois group h i=h 3 i:
3
def
The conjugates of 1 D  C x are 3 D  3 C  3 , 2 D  2 C  2 . Direct calculation shows
that
X6
1 C 2 C 3 D  i D 1;
i D1
1 2 C 1 3 C 2 3 D 2;
1 2 3 D . C  6 /. 2 C  5 /. 3 C  4 /
D . C  3 C  4 C  6 /. 3 C  4 /
D . 4 C  6 C 1 C  2 C  5 C 1 C  C  3 /
D 1:

Hence the minimum polynomial1 of  C x is

g.X / D X 3 C X 2 2X 1:
1
The minimum polynomial of cos 2
7 D 2 is therefore

g.2X /
D X 3 C X 2 =2 X=2 1=8:
8
The subfield of Q corresponding to h 2 i is generatedp
by D  C 2 C 4 . Let 0 D .
0 2
Then . / D 7. Hence the field fixed by h i is Q2 7:

E XAMPLE 3.22 We compute the Galois group of a splitting field E of X 5 2 2 QX .

1 More directly, on setting X D  C x in

.X 3 3X/ C .X 2 2/ C X C 1

one obtains 1 C  C  2 C


C  6 D 0.
 Constructible numbers revisited 43

Recall from Exercise 2-3 that E D Q; where  is a primitive

5th root of 1, and is a root of X 5 2. For example, we could take
E to be the splitting field of X 5 2 in C, with  D e 2 i=5 and Q;
equal to the real 5th root of 2. We have the picture at right, and N H

Q W Q D 4; Q W Q D 5: Q Q

Because 4 and 5 are relatively prime, G=N

Q; W Q D 20: Q

Hence G D Gal.Q; =Q/ has order 20, and the subgroups N and H fixing Q and Q
have orders 5 and 4 respectively. Because Q is normal over Q (it is the splitting field
of X 5 1), N is normal in G. Because Q
Q D Q; , we have H \ N D 1, and so
G D N  H . Moreover, H ' G=N ' .Z=5Z/ , which is cyclic, being generated by the
class of 2. Let  be the generator of H corresponding to 2 under this isomorphism, and let 
be a generator of N . Thus  ./ is another root of X 5 2, which we can take to be  (after
possibly replacing  by a power). Hence:
  D 2
 
 D 
 D  D :
Note that    1 ./ D   D  ./ D  2 and it fixes ; therefore    1 D  2 . Thus G
has generators  and  and defining relations
 5 D 1;  4 D 1;  1
D  2:
The subgroup H has five conjugates, which correspond to the five fields Q i ,
 i H i
$  i Q D Q i ; 1  i  5:

Constructible numbers revisited

Earlier, we showed (1.36) that a real number is constructible if and only if it is con-
p p
tained in a subfield of R of the form Q a1 ; : : : ; ar with each ai a positive element of
p p
Q a1 ; : : : ; ai 1 . In particular
constructible H) QW Q D 2s some s: (2)
Now we can prove a partial converse to this last statement.
T HEOREM 3.23 If is contained in a subfield of R that is Galois of degree 2r over Q, then
it is constructible.
P ROOF. Suppose 2 E  R where E is Galois of degree 2r over Q, and let G D Gal.E=Q/.
Because finite p-groups are solvable (GT 6.7), there exists a sequence of groups
f1g D G0  G1  G2 


 Gr D G
with Gi =Gi 1 of order 2. Correspondingly, there will be a sequence of fields,
E D E0  E1  E2 


 Er D Q
p
with Ei 1 of degree 2 over Ei . The next lemma shows that Ei D Ei 1 ai for some
ai 2 Ei 1 , and ai > 0 because otherwise Ei would not be real. This proves the theorem. 2
44 3. T HE F UNDAMENTAL T HEOREM OF G ALOIS T HEORY

L EMMAp3.24 Let E=F be a quadratic extension of fields of characteristic 2. Then

E D F d for some d 2 F .

P ROOF. Let
p
2 E, F , and let X 2 C bX C c be the minimum polynomial of . Then
b b 2 4c
p
D 2 , and so E D F b 2 4c. 2

C OROLLARY 3.25 If p is a prime of the form 2k C 1, then cos 2

p is constructible.

P ROOF. The field Qe 2 i=p is Galois over Q with Galois group G ' .Z=pZ/ , which has
order p 1 D 2k . The field Qcos 2 p is contained in Qe
2 i=p , and therefore is Galois of

degree dividing 2k (fundamental theorem 3.16 and 1.20). As Qcos 2

p is a subfield of R,
we can apply the theorem. 2

Thus a regular p-gon, p prime, is constructible if and only if p is a Fermat prime,

r
i.e., of the form 22 C 1. For example, we have proved that the regular 65537-polygon is
2
constructible, without (happily) having to exhibit an explicit formula for cos 65537 .

R EMARK 3.26 The converse to (2) is false. The polynomial f .X / D X 4 4X C 2 2 QX

is irreducible, and well show below (4.9) that the Galois group of the splitting field E over
Q of the polynomial is S4 . Each root of f .X / lies in an extension of degree 22 of Q . If the
four roots of f .X / were constructible, then all the elements of E would be constructible
(1.36a). Let H be a Sylow subgroup of S4 . Then E H has odd degree over Q, and so the
elements of E H X Q cant be constructible. 2

The Galois group of a polynomial

If the polynomial f 2 F X is separable, then its splitting field Ff is Galois over F , and we
call Gal.Ff =F
Qn/ the Galois group Gf of f:
Let f D i D1 .X i / in a splitting field Ff . We know that the elements of Gal.Ff =F /
map roots of f to roots of f , i.e., they map the set f1 ; 2 ; : : : ; n g into itself. Being
automorphisms, they define permutations of f1 ; 2 ; : : : ; n g, and as the i generated Ff ,
an element of Gal.Ff =F / is uniquely determined by the permutation it defines. Thus
Gf can be identified with a subset of Sym.f1 ; 2 ; : : : ; n g/  Sn (symmetric group on n
symbols). In fact, Gf consists exactly of the permutations  of f1 ; 2 ; : : : ; n g such that,
for P 2 F X1 ; : : : ; Xn ,

P .1 ; : : : ; n / D 0 H) P . 1 ; : : : ;  n / D 0: (3)

This gives a description of Gf without mentioning fields or abstract groups (neither of which
were available to Galois).3
Note that this shows again that .Gf W 1/, hence Ff W F , divides deg.f /:
2 As Shuichi Otsuka has pointed out to me, it is possible to prove this without appealing to the Sylow
theorems. If a root of f .X/ were constructible, then there would exist a tower of quadratic extensions
Q  M  Q. By Galois theory, the groups Gal.E=M /  Gal.E=Q/ have orders 12 and 6 respectively.
As Gal.E=Q/ D S4 , Gal.E=M / would be A4 . But A4 has no subgroup of order 6, a contradiction. Thus no
root of f .X/ is constructible. (Actually Gal.E=Q/ D S3 , but that does not matter here.)
3 The kernel of the map

F X1 ; : : : ; Xn ! Ff ; Xi 7! i ;
consists of the polynomials P .X1 ; : : : ; Xn / such that P .1 ; : : : ; n / D 0. Let  be a permutation of the i
satisfying the condition (3). Then the map

F X1 ; : : : ; Xn ! Ff ; Xi 7! i ;
 Solvability of equations 45

Solvability of equations
For a polynomial f 2 F X , we say that f .X / D 0 is solvable in radicals if its solutions
can be obtained by the algebraic operations of addition, subtraction, multiplication, division,
and the extraction of mth roots, or, more precisely, if there exists a tower of fields

F D F0  F1  F2 


 Fm

such that
(a) Fi D Fi 1 i , imi 2 Fi 1;

(b) Fm contains a splitting field for f:

T HEOREM 3.27 (G ALOIS , 1832) Let F be a field of characteristic zero. The equation
f D 0 is solvable in radicals if and only if the Galois group of f is solvable.

We shall prove this later (5.33). Also we shall exhibit polynomials f .X / 2 QX with
Galois group Sn , which are therefore not solvable when n  5 by GT 4.37.

R EMARK 3.28 If F has characteristic p, then the theorem fails for two reasons:
(a) f need not be separable, and so not have a Galois group;
(b) X p X a D 0 need not be solvable by radicals even though it is separable with
abelian Galois group (cf. Exercise 2-2).
If the definition of solvable is changed to allow extensions of the type in (b) in the chain, and
f is required to be separable, then the theorem becomes true in characteristic p.
N OTES Much of what has been written about Galois is unreliable see Tony Rothman, Genius
and Biographers: The Fictionalization of Evariste Galois, Amer. Math. Mon. 89, 84 (1982). Revised
version available online at various locations.
For a careful explanation of Galoiss Premier Memoire, see Edwards, Harold M., Galois for
21st-century readers. Notices AMS 59 (2012), no. 7, 912923.

Exercises
3-1 Let F be a field of characteristic 0. Show that F .X 2 / \ F .X 2 X / D F (intersection
inside F .X /). [Hint: Find automorphisms  and  of F .X /, each of order 2, fixing F .X 2 /
and F .X 2 X / respectively, and show that   has infinite order.]

3-2 4 Let p be an odd prime, and let  be a primitive pth root of 1 in C. Let E D Q,
P G D Gal.E=Q/;
and let thus G D .Z=.p// . Let H be the subgroup of index 2 in G. Put
D i 2H  and D i 2GnH  i . Show:
i
P

(a) and are fixed by H ;

(b) if  2 G n H , then  D ,  D .
Thus and are roots of the polynomial X 2 C X C 2 QX . Compute and show
p p
that the fixed field of H is Q p when p  1 mod 4 and Q p when p  3 mod 4.
factors through the first map, and defines an F -isomorphism Ff ! Ff , i.e., an element of the Galois group.
This shows that every permutation satisfying the condition (3) extends uniquely to an element of Gf , and it is
obvious that every element of Gf arises in this way.
4 This problem shows that every quadratic extension of Q is contained in a cyclotomic extension of Q. The

Kronecker-Weber theorem says that every abelian extension of Q is contained in a cyclotomic extension.
46 3. T HE F UNDAMENTAL T HEOREM OF G ALOIS T HEORY

p p qp p
3-3 Let M D Q 2; 3 and E D M . 2 C 2/. 3 C 3/ (subfields of R).
(a) Show that M is Galois over Q with Galois group the 4-group C2  C2 .
(b) Show that E is Galois over Q with Galois group the quaternion group.

3-4 Let E be a Galois extension of F with Galois group G, and let L be the fixed field of a
subgroup H of G. Show that the automomorphism group of L=F is N=H where N is the
normalizer of H in G.

3-5 Let E be a finite extension of F . Show that the order of Aut.E=F / divides the degree
EW F :
 C HAPTER 4
Computing Galois Groups

In this chapter, we investigate general methods for computing Galois groups.

When is Gf  An ?
Let  be a permutation of the set f1; 2; : : : ; ng. The pairs .i; j / with i < j but  .i / >  .j /
are called the inversions of , and  is said to be even or odd according as the number of
inversions is even or odd. The signature of  , sign. /, is C1 or 1 according as  is even or
odd. We can define the signature of a permutation  of any set S of n elements by choosing
a numbering of the set and identifying  with a permutation of f1; : : : ; ng. Then sign is the
unique homomorphism Sym.S / ! f1g such that sign. / D 1 for every transposition. In
particular, it is independent of the choice of the numbering. See GT, 4.25.
Now consider a monic polynomial

f .X / D X n C a1 X n 1
C


C an
Qn
and let f .X / D i D1 .X i / in some splitting field. Set
Y Y

.f / D .i j /; D.f / D
.f /2 D .i j /2 :
1i <j n 1i <j n

The discriminant of f is defined to be D.f /. Note that D.f / is nonzero if and only if f
has only simple roots, i.e., if f is separable with no multiple factors. Let Gf be the Galois
group of f , and identify it with a subgroup of Sym.f1 ; : : : ; n g/ (as on p. 44).

P ROPOSITION 4.1 Let f 2 F X be a separable polynomial, and let  2 Gf .

(a) 
.f / D sign. /
.f /, where sign. / is the signature of :
(b) D.f / D D.f /:

P ROOF. Each inversion of  introduces a negative sign into 
.f /, and so (a) follows from
the definition of sign. /. The equation in (b) is obtained by squaring that in (a). 2

While
.f / depends on the choice of the numbering of the roots of f , D.f / does not.

C OROLLARY 4.2 Let f .X / 2 F X be of degree n and have only simple roots. Let Ff be
a splitting field for f , so that Gf D Gal.Ff =F /.
(a) The discriminant D.f / 2 F .

47
48 4. C OMPUTING G ALOIS G ROUPS

(b) The subfield of Ff corresponding to An \ Gf is F
.f /. Hence

Gf  An
.f / 2 F D.f / is a square in F:

def
P ROOF. (a) The discriminant of f is an element of Ff fixed by Gf D Gal.Ff =F /, and
hence lies in F (by the fundamental theorem of Galois theory).
(b) Because f has simple roots,
.f / 0, and so the formula 
.f / D sign. /
.f /
shows that an element of Gf fixes
.f / if and only if it lies in An . Thus, under the Galois
correspondence,
Gf \ An $ F
.f /.
Hence,
Gf \ An D Gf F
.f / D F: 2
p
b b 2 4c
The roots of X 2 C bX C c are 2 and so
p p

.X 2 C bX C c/ D b2 4c (or b2 4c),
2 2
D.X C bX C c/ D b 4c:

Although there is a not a universal formula for the roots of f in terms its coefficients when
the degree of f is >4 , there is for its discriminant. For example,

D.X 3 C bX C c/ D 4b 3 27c 2 :

By completing the cube, one can put any cubic polynomial in this form (in characteristic
3).
The formulas for the discriminant rapidly become very complicated, for example, that
for X 5 C aX 4 C bX 3 C cX 2 C dX C e has 59 terms. Fortunately, PARI knows them. For
example, typing poldisc(X^3+a*X^2+b*X+c,X) returns the discriminant of X 3 C aX 2 C
bX C c, namely,
4ca3 C b 2 a2 C 18cba C . 4b 3 27c 2 /:

R EMARK 4.3 Suppose F  R. Then D.f / will not be a square if it is negative. It is known
that the sign of D.f / is . 1/s where 2s is the number of nonreal roots of f in C (see ANT
2.40). Thus if s is odd, then Gf is not contained in An . This can be proved more directly by
noting that complex conjugation acts on the roots as the product of s disjoint transpositions.
Of course the converse is not true: when s is even, Gf is not necessarily contained in
An .

When is Gf transitive?
P ROPOSITION 4.4 Let f .X / 2 F X have only simple roots. Then f .X / is irreducible if
and only if Gf permutes the roots of f transitively.

P ROOF. H) W If and are two roots of f .X / in a splitting field Ff for f , then they both
have f .X / as their minimum polynomial, and so F and F are both stem fields for f .
Hence, there is an F -isomorphism

F ' F ; $ :
 Polynomials of degree at most three 49

Write Ff D F 1 ; 2 ; ::: with 1 D and 2 ; 3 ; : : : the other roots of f .X /. Then the

F -homomorphism 7! W F ! Ff extends (step by step) to an F -homomorphism
Ff ! Ff (use 2.2b), which is an F -isomorphism sending to .
(H W Let g.X / 2 F X be an irreducible factor of f , and let be one of its roots. If
is a second root of f , then (by assumption) D  for some  2 Gf . Now, because g has
coefficients in F ,
g. / D g./ D 0;
and so is also a root of g. Therefore, every root of f is also a root of g, and so f .X / D
g.X/: 2

Note that when f .X / is irreducible of degree n, nj.Gf W 1/ because F W F D n and

F W F divides Ff W F D .Gf W 1/. Thus Gf is a transitive subgroup of Sn whose order is
divisible by n.

Polynomials of degree at most three

E XAMPLE 4.5 Let f .X / 2 F X be a polynomial of degree 2. Then f is inseparable
F has characteristic 2 and f .X / D X 2 a for some a 2 F X F 2 . If f is separable, then
Gf D 1.D A2 / or S2 according as D.f / is a square in F or not.
E XAMPLE 4.6 Let f .X / 2 F X be a polynomial of degree 3. We can assume f to be
irreducible, for otherwise we are essentially back in the previous case. Then f is inseparable
if and only if F has characteristic 3 and f .X / D X 3 a for some a 2 F n F 3 . If f is
separable, then Gf is a transitive subgroup of S3 whose order is divisible by 3. There are
only two possibilities: Gf D A3 or S3 according as D.f / is a square in F or not. Note that
A3 is generated by the cycle .123/.
For example, X 3 3X C1 2 QX is irreducible (see 1.12), its discriminant is 4. 3/3
27 D 81 D 92 , and so its Galois group is A3 .
On the other hand, X 3 C 3X C 1 2 QX is also irreducible (apply 1.11), but its discrim-
inant is 135 which is not a square in Q, and so its Galois group is S3 .

Quartic polynomials
Let f .X / be a quartic polynomial without multiple roots. In order to determine Gf we shall
exploit the fact that S4 has

V D f1; .12/.34/; .13/.24/; .14/.23/g

as a normal subgroup it is normal because it contains

Q all elements of type 2 C 2 (GT 4.29).
Let E be a splitting field of f , and let f .X / D .X i / in E. We identify the Galois
group Gf of f with a subgroup of the symmetric group Sym.f1 ; 2 ; 3 ; 4 g/. Consider
the partially symmetric elements

D 1 2 C 3 4
D 1 3 C 2 4
D 1 4 C 2 3 :

They are distinct because the i are distinct; for example,

D 1 .2 3 / C 4 .3 2 / D .1 4 /.2 3 /:
50 4. C OMPUTING G ALOIS G ROUPS

The group Sym.f1 ; 2 ; 3 ; 4 g/ permutes f; ; g transitively. The stabilizer of each of

; ; must therefore be a subgroup of index 3 in S4 , and hence has order 8. For example,
the stabilizer of is h.1234/; .13/i. Groups of order 8 in S4 are Sylow 2-subgroups. There
are three of them, all isomorphic to D4 . By the Sylow theorems, V is contained in a Sylow
2-subgroup; in fact, because the Sylow 2-subgroups are conjugate and V is normal, it is
contained in all three. It follows that V is the intersection of the three Sylow 2-subgroups.
Each Sylow 2-subgroup fixes exactly one of ; ; or , and therefore their intersection V is
the subgroup of Sym.f1 ; 2 ; 3 ; 4 g/ fixing , , and .

L EMMA 4.7 The fixed field of Gf \ V is F ; ; . Hence

F ; ; is Galois over F with Galois group Gf =Gf \ V . E
Gf \ V
P ROOF. The above discussion shows that the subgroup of Gf of
elements fixing F ; ; is Gf \ V , and so E Gf \V D F ; ; F ; ;
by the fundamental theorem of Galois theory. The remaining state-
Gf =Gf \ V
ments follow from the fundamental theorem using that V is nor-
mal. 2 F

Let M D F ; ; , and let g.X / D .X /.X /.X / 2 M X it is called the

resolvent cubic of f . Every permutation of the i (a fortiori, every element of Gf ) merely
permutes ; ; , and so fixes g.X /. Therefore (by the fundamental theorem) g.X / has
coefficients in F . More explicitly, we have:

L EMMA 4.8 The resolvent cubic of f D X 4 C bX 3 C cX 2 C dX C e is

g D X3 cX 2 C .bd 4e/X b 2 e C 4ce d 2:

The discriminants of f and g are equal.

S KETCH OF PROOF. Expand f D .X 1 /.X 2 /.X 3 /.X 4 / to express b; c; d; e

in terms of 1 ; 2 ; 3 ; 4 . Expand g D .X /.X /.X / to express the coefficients
of g in terms of 1 ; 2 ; 3 ; 4 , and substitute to express them in terms of b; c; d; e. 2

Now let f be an irreducible separable quartic. Then G D Gf is a transitive subgroup of

S4 whose order is divisible by 4. There are the following possibilities for G:

G .G \ V W 1/ .GW V \ G/
S4 4 6
A4 4 3 .G \ V W 1/ D EW M
V 4 1 .GW V \ G/ D M W F
D4 4 2
C4 2 2

The groups of type D4 are the Sylow 2-subgroups discussed above, and the groups of type
C4 are those generated by cycles of length 4.
We can compute .GW V \G/ from the resolvent cubic g, because G=V \G D Gal.M=F /
and M is the splitting field of g. Once we know .GW V \ G/, we can deduce G except in the
case that it is 2. If M W F D 2, then G \ V D V or C2 . Only the first group acts transitively
on the roots of f , and so (from 4.4) we see that in this case G D D4 or C4 according as f
is irreducible or not in M X .
 Examples of polynomials with Sp as Galois group over Q 51

E XAMPLE 4.9 Consider f .X / D X 4 4X C 2 2 QX . It is irreducible by Eisensteins

criterion (1.16), and its resolvent cubic is g.X / D X 3 8X C 16, which is irreducible
because it has no roots in F5 . The discriminant of g.X / is 4864, which is not a square, and
so the Galois group of g.X / is S3 . From the table, we see that the Galois group of f .X / is
S4 .
E XAMPLE 4.10 Consider f .X / D X 4 C 4X 2 C 2 2 QX . It is irreducible p
by Eisensteins
criterion (1.16), and its resolvent cubic is .X 4/.X 2 8/; thus M D Q 2. From the
table we see that Gf is of type D4 or C4 , but f factors over M (even as a polynomial in
X 2 ), and hence Gf is of type C4 .
E XAMPLE 4.11 Consider f .X / D X 4 10X 2 C 4 2 QX . It is irreducible in QX be-
cause (by inspection) it is irreducible in ZX . Its resolvent cubic is .X C 10/.X C 4/.X 4/,
and so Gf is of type V .
E XAMPLE 4.12 Consider f .X / D X 4 2 2 QX . It is irreducible by p
Eisensteins criterion
3
(1.16), and its resolvent cubic is g.X / D X C 8X . Hence M D Qi 2. One can check
that f is irreducible over M , and Gf is of type D4 .
Alternatively, analyse the equation as in (3.22).
As we explained in (1.29), PARI knows how to factor polynomials with coefficients in
Q.
E XAMPLE 4.13 (From the web, sci.math.research, search for final analysis.) Consider
f .X/ D X 4 2cX 3 dX 2 C 2cdX dc 2 2 ZX with a > 0, b > 0, c > 0, a > b and
d D a2 b 2 . Let r D d=c 2 and let w be the unique positive real number such that r D
w 3 =.w 2 C 4/. Let m be the number of roots of f .X / in Z (counted with multiplicities). The
Galois group of f is as follows:
If m D 0 and w not rational, then G is S4 .
If m D 1 and w not rational then G is S3 .
If w is rational and w 2 C 4 is not a square then G D D4.
If w is rational and w 2 C 4 is a square then G D V D C2  C2 :
This covers all possible cases. The hard part was to establish that m D 2 could never happen.
A SIDE 4.14 For a discussion of whether the method of solving a quartic by reducing to a cubic
generalizes to other even degrees, see mo149099.

Examples of polynomials with Sp as Galois group over Q

The next lemma gives a criterion for a subgroup of Sp to be the whole of Sp .
L EMMA 4.15 For p prime, the symmetric group Sp is generated by any transposition and
any p-cycle.
P ROOF. After renumbering, we may assume that the transposition is  D .12/, and we may
write the p-cycle  so that 1 occurs in the first position,  D .1 i2


ip /. Now some power
of  will map 1 to 2 and will still be a p-cycle (here is where we use that p is prime). After
replacing  with the power, we have  D .1 2 j3 : : : jp /, and after renumbering again, we
have  D .1 2 3 : : : p/: Now
.i i C 1/ D  i .12/ i
(see GT 4.29) and so lies in the subgroup generated by  and . These transpositions generate
Sp . 2
52 4. C OMPUTING G ALOIS G ROUPS

P ROPOSITION 4.16 Let f be an irreducible polynomial of prime degree p in QX . If f

splits in C and has exactly two nonreal roots, then Gf D Sp :

P ROOF. Let E be the splitting field of f in C, and let 2 E be a root of f . Because f is

irreducible, QW Q D deg f D p, and so pjEW Q D .Gf W 1/. Therefore Gf contains an
element of order p (Cauchys theorem, GT 4.13), but the only elements of order p in Sp are
p-cycles (here we use that p is prime again).
Let  be complex conjugation on C. Then  transposes the two nonreal roots of f .X /
and fixes the rest. Therefore Gf  Sp and contains a transposition and a p-cycle, and so is
the whole of Sp . 2

It remains to construct polynomials satisfying the conditions of the Proposition.

E XAMPLE 4.17 Let p 5 be a prime number. Choose a positive even integer m and even
integers
n1 < n2 <


< np 2 ;
and let
g.X / D .X 2 C m/.X n1 /:::.X np 2 /:

The graph of g crosses the x-axis exactly at the points n1 ; : : : ; np 2 , and it doesnt have a
local maximum or minimum at any of those points (because the ni are simple roots). Thus
e D ming 0 .x/D0 jg.x/j > 0, and we can choose an odd positive integer n such that n2 < e.
Consider
2
f .X / D g.X / .
n
As n2 < e, the graph of f also crosses the x-axis at exactly p 2 points, and so f has exactly
two nonreal roots. On the other hand, when we write

nf .X / D nX p C a1 X p 1
C


C ap ;

the ai are all even and ap is not divisible by 22 , and so Eisensteins criterion implies that f
is irreducible. Over R, f has p 2 linear factors and one quadratic factor, and so it certainly
splits over C (high school algebra). Therefore, the proposition applies to f .1

E XAMPLE 4.18 The reader shouldnt think that, in order to have Galois group Sp , a polyno-
mial must have exactly two nonreal roots. For example, the polynomial X 5 5X 3 C 4X 1
has Galois group S5 but all of its roots are real.

Finite fields
Let Fp D Z=pZ, the field of p elements. As we noted in 1, every field E of characteristic
p contains a copy of Fp , namely, fm1E j m 2 Zg. No harm results if we identify Fp with
this subfield of E.
Let E be a field of degree n over Fp . Then E has q D p n elements, and so E  is a group
of order q 1. Hence the nonzero elements of E are roots of X q 1 1, and all elements of
E (including 0) are roots of X q X . Hence E is a splitting field for X q X, and so any
two fields with q elements are isomorphic.
1 Ifm is taken sufficiently large, then g.X/ 2 will have exactly two nonreal roots, i.e., we can take n D 1,
but the proof is longer (see Jacobson 1964, p107, who credits the example to Brauer). The shorter argument in
the text was suggested to me by Martin Ward.
 Finite fields 53

P ROPOSITION 4.19 Every extension of finite fields is simple.

P ROOF. Consider E  F . Then E  is a finite subgroup of the multiplicative group of a

field, and hence is cyclic (see Exercise 1-3). If  generates E  as a multiplicative group,
then certainly E D F . 2

Now let E be the splitting field of f .X / D X q X , q D p n . The derivative f 0 .X / D 1,

which is relatively prime to f .X / (in fact, to every polynomial), and so f .X / has q distinct
roots in E. Let S be the set of its roots. Then S is obviously closed under multiplication and
the formation of inverses, but it is also closed under subtraction: if aq D a and b q D b, then

.a b/q D aq bq D a b:

Hence S is a field, and so S D E. In particular, E has p n elements.

P ROPOSITION 4.20 For each power q D p n there is a field Fq with q elements. It is

the splitting field of X q X, and hence any two such fields are isomorphic. Moreover,
Fq is Galois over Fp with cyclic Galois group generated by the Frobenius automorphism
.a/ D ap .

P ROOF. Only the final statement remains to be proved. The field Fq is Galois over Fp

because it is the splitting field of a separable polynomial. We noted in (1.4) that x 7! x p
is an automorphism of Fq . An element a of Fq is fixed by  if and only if ap D a, but Fp
consists exactly of such elements, and so the fixed field of hi is Fp . This proves that Fq is
Galois over Fp and that hi D Gal.Fq =Fp / (see 3.11b). 2

C OROLLARY 4.21 Let E be a field with p n elements. For each divisor m of n, m  0, E

contains exactly one field with p m elements.

P ROOF. We know that E is Galois over Fp and that Gal.E=Fp / is the cyclic group of order
n generated by  . The group hi has one subgroup of order n=m for each m dividing n,
namely, h m i, and so E has exactly one subfield of degree m over Fp for each m dividing n,
m m
namely, E h i . Because it has degree m over Fp , E h i has p m elements. 2

C OROLLARY 4.22 Each monic irreducible polynomial f of degree d jn in Fp X occurs

n
exactly once as a factor of X p X; hence, the degree of the splitting field of f is  d .
n
P ROOF. First, the factors of X p X are distinct because it has no common factor with
its derivative. If f .X / is irreducible of degree d , then f .X / has a root in a field of degree
n
d over Fp . But the splitting field of X p X contains a copy of every field of degree
n
d over Fp with d jn. Hence some root of X p X is also a root of f .X /, and therefore
p n p d
f .X/jX X. In particular, f divides X X , and therefore it splits in its splitting
field, which has degree d over Fp . 2

P ROPOSITION 4.23 Let F be an algebraic closure of Fp . Then F contains exactly one field
n
Fpn for each integer n  1, and Fpn consists of the roots of X p X. Moreover,

Fpm  Fpn mjn:

The partially ordered set of finite subfields of F is isomorphic to the set of integers n  1
partially ordered by divisibility.

P ROOF. Obvious from what we have proved. 2

54 4. C OMPUTING G ALOIS G ROUPS

P ROPOSITION 4.24 The field Fp has an algebraic closure F.

P ROOF. Choose a sequence of integers 1 D n1 < n2 < n3 <


such that ni jni C1 for all
i , and every integer n divides some ni . For example, let ni D i . Define the fields Fpni
n
inductively as follows: Fpn1 D Fp ; Fpni is the splitting S field of X p i X over Fpni 1 .
Then, Fpn1  Fpn2  Fpn3 


, and we define F D Fpni . As a union of a chain of fields
algebraic over Fp , it is again a field algebraic over Fp . Moreover, every polynomial in Fp X
splits in F, and so it is an algebraic closure of F (by 1.44). 2

R EMARK 4.25 Since the Fpn s are not subsets of a fixed set, forming the union requires
explanation. Define S to be the disjoint union of the Fpn . For a; b 2 S , set a  b if a D b in
one of the Fpn . Then  is an equivalence relation, and we let F D S= .
PARI factors polynomials modulo p very quickly. Recall that the syntax is
factormod(f(X),p). For example, to obtain a list of all monic polynomials of degree 1; 2;
or 4 over F5 , ask PARI to factor X 625 X modulo 5 (note that 625 D 54 ).
A SIDE 4.26 In one of the few papers published during his lifetime, Galois defined finite fields of
arbitrary prime power order and established their basic properties, for example, the existence of a
primitive element (Notices AMS, Feb. 2003, p. 198). For this reason finite fields are often called
Galois fields and the field with q elements is often denoted by GF.q/.

Computing Galois groups over Q

In the remainder of this chapter, I sketch a practical method for computing Galois groups
over Q and similar fields. Recall that for a separable polynomial f 2 F X , Ff denotes a
splitting field for F , and Gf D Gal.Ff =F / denotes the Galois group of F . Moreover, Gf
permutes the roots 1 ; 2 ; : : : of f in Ff :
G  Symf1 ; 2 ; : : :g.
The first result generalizes Proposition 4.4.
P ROPOSITION 4.27 Let f .X / be a polynomial in F X with only simple roots, and suppose
that the orbits of Gf acting on the roots of f have m1 ; : : : ; mr elements respectively. Then
f factors as f D f1


fr with fi irreducible of degree mi .
P ROOF. We may assume that f is monic. Let 1 ; : : : ; m , m D deg f , be the roots of f .X /
in Ff . The monic factors of f .X / in Ff X correspond to subsets S of f1 ; : : : ; m g,
Y
S $ fS D .X /,
2S

and fS is fixed under the action of Gf (and hence has coefficients in F ) if and only if S
is stable under Gf . Therefore the irreducible factors of f in F X are the polynomials fS
corresponding to minimal subsets S of f1 ; : : : ; m g stable under Gf , but these subsets S
are precisely the orbits of Gf in f1 ; : : : ; m g. 2
S
R EMARK 4.28 Note that the proof shows the following: let f1 ; : : : ; m g D Oi be the
decomposition of f1 ; : : : ; m g into a disjoint union of orbits for the group Gf ; then
Y Y
f D fi ; f i D .X i /
i 2Oi

is the decomposition of f into a product of irreducible polynomials in F X .

 Computing Galois groups over Q 55

Now suppose F is finite, with p n elements say. Then Gf is a cyclic group generated by
the Frobenius automorphism  W x 7! x p . When we regard  as a permutation of the roots of
f , then distinct orbits of  correspond to the factors in its cycle decomposition (GT 4.26).
Hence, if the degrees of the distinct irreducible factors of f are m1 ; m2 ; : : : ; mr , then  has
a cycle decomposition of type

m1 C


C mr D deg f:

L EMMA 4.29 Let R be a unique factorization domain with field of fractions F , and let
f be a monic polynomial in RX . Let P be a prime ideal in R, and let fx be the image
of f in .R=P /X . Assume that neither f nor fx has a multiple root. Then the roots
1 ; : : : ; m of f lie in some finite extension R0 of R, and their reductions
xi modulo
0 x
PR are the roots of f . Moreover Gfx  Gf when both are identified with subgroups of
Symf1 ; : : : ; m g D Symfx xm g.
1 ; : : : ;

P ROOF. See van der Waerden, Modern Algebra, I, 61. For a proof requiring some commu-
tative algebra, see math.stackexchange.com, question 111850. 2

On combining these results, we obtain the following theorem.

T HEOREM 4.30 (D EDEKIND ) Let f .X / 2 ZX be a monic polynomial of degree m, and

let p be a prime such that
Q f mod p has simple roots (equivalently, D.f / is not divisible by
p). Suppose that fx D fi with fi irreducible of degree mi in Fp X . Then Gf contains
an element whose cycle decomposition is of type

m D m1 C


C mr :

E XAMPLE 4.31 Consider X 5 X 1. Modulo 2, this factors as

.X 2 C X C 1/.X 3 C X 2 C 1/;

and modulo 3 it is irreducible. The theorem shows that Gf contains permutations .i k/.lmn/
and .12345/, and so also ..i k/.lmn//3 D .i k/. Therefore Gf D S5 by (4.15).

L EMMA 4.32 A transitive subgroup of H  Sn containing a transposition and an .n 1/-

cycle is equal to Sn .

P ROOF. After possibly renumbering, we may suppose the .n 1/-cycle is .123 : : : n 1/.
Because of the transitivity, the transposition can be transformed into .i n/, some 1  i  n 1.
Conjugating .i n/ by .123 : : : n 1/ and its powers will transform it into .1n/; .2n/; : : : ; .n
1 n/, and these elements obviously generate Sn : 2

E XAMPLE 4.33 Select separable monic polynomials of degree n, f1 ; f2 ; f3 with coeffi-

cients in Z such that:
(a) f1 is irreducible modulo 2;
(b) f2 D .degree 1/.irreducible of degree n 1/ mod 3;
(c) f3 D .irreducible of degree 2)(product of 1 or 2 irreducible polynomials of odd degree)
mod 5.
Take
f D 15f1 C 10f2 C 6f3 :
Then
56 4. C OMPUTING G ALOIS G ROUPS

(i) Gf is transitive (it contains an n-cycle because f  f1 mod 2);

(ii) Gf contains a cycle of length n 1 (because f  f2 mod 3);
(iii) Gf contains a transposition (because f  f3 mod 5, and so it contains the product of a
transposition with a commuting element of odd order; on raising this to an appropriate
odd power, we are left with the transposition). Hence Gf is Sn :

The above results give the following strategy for computing the Galois group of an
irreducible polynomial f 2 QX . Factor f modulo a sequence of primes p not dividing
D.f / to determine the cycle types of the elements in Gf a difficult theorem in number
theory, the effective Chebotarev density theorem, says that if a cycle type occurs in Gf , then
this will be seen by looking modulo a set of prime numbers of positive density, and will
occur for a prime less than some bound. Now look up a table of transitive subgroups of Sn
with order divisible by n and their cycle types. If this doesnt suffice to determine the group,
then look at its action on the set of subsets of r roots for some r.
See, Butler and McKay, The transitive groups of degree up to eleven, Comm. Algebra 11
(1983), 863911. This lists all transitive subgroups of Sn , n  11, and gives the cycle types
of their elements and the orbit lengths of the subgroup acting on the r-sets of roots. With
few exceptions, these invariants are sufficient to determine the subgroup up to isomorphism.
PARI can compute Galois groups for polynomials of degree  11 over Q. The syntax is
polgalois(f) where f is an irreducible polynomial of degree  11 (or  7 depending on
your setup), and the output is .n; s; k;name/ where n is the order of the group, s is C1 or
1 according as the group is a subgroup of the alternating group or not, and name is the
name of the group. For example, polgalois(X^5-5*X^3+4*X-1) (see 4.18) returns the
symmetric group S5 , which has order 120, polgalois(X^11-5*X^3+4*X-1) returns the
symmetric group S11 , which has order 39916800, and
polgalois(X^12-5*X^3+4*X-1) returns an apology. The reader should use PARI to
check the examples 4.94.12.
See also, Soicher and McKay, Computing Galois groups over the rationals, J. Number
Theory, 20 (1985) 273281.

Exercises
4-1 Find the splitting field of X m 1 2 Fp X .

4-2 Find the Galois group of X 4 2X 3 8X 3 over Q.

4-3 Find the degree of the splitting field of X 8 2 over Q.

4-4 Give an example of a field extension E=F of degree 4 such that there does not exist a
field M with F  M  E, M W F D 2.

4-5 List all irreducible polynomials of degree 3 over F7 in 10 seconds or less (there are
112).

4-6 It is a thought-provoking question that few graduate students would know how to
approach the question of determining the Galois group of, say,

X 6 C 2X 5 C 3X 4 C 4X 3 C 5X 2 C 6X C 7:

[over Q].
 Exercises 57

(a) Can you find it?

(b) Can you find it without using the polgalois command in PARI?

4-7 Let f .X / D X 5 C aX C b, a; b 2 Q. Show that Gf  D5 (dihedral group) if and only

if
(a) f .X / is irreducible in QX , and
(b) the discriminant D.f / D 44 a5 C 55 b 4 of f .X / is a square, and
(c) the equation f .X / D 0 is solvable by radicals.

4-8 Show that a polynomial f of degree n D kiD1 piri (the pi are distinct primes) is
Q
n=p
irreducible over Fp if and only if (a) gcd.f .X /; X p i X / D 1 for all 1  i  k and (b)
n
f divides X p X (Rabin irreducibility test2 ).

4-9 Let f .X / be an irreducible polynomial in QX with both real and nonreal roots. Show
that its Galois group is nonabelian. Can the condition that f is irreducible be dropped?

4-10 Let F be a Galois extension of Q, and let be an element of F such that F 2 is not
fixed by the action of Gal.F=Q/ on F  =F 2 . Let D 1 ; : : : ; n be the orbit of under
Gal.F=Q/. Show:
p p
(a) F 1 ; : : : ; n =F is Galois with commutative Galois group contained in .Z=2Z/n .
p p
(b) F 1 ; : : : ; n =Q is Galois with noncommutative Galois group contained in .Z=2Z/n
Gal.F=Q/. (Cf. mo113794.)

2 Rabin, Michael O. Probabilistic algorithms in finite fields. SIAM J. Comput. 9 (1980), no. 2, 273280.
 C HAPTER 5
Applications of Galois Theory

In this chapter, we apply the fundamental theorem of Galois theory to obtain other results
about polynomials and extensions of fields.

Primitive element theorem.

Recall that a finite extension of fields E=F is simple if E D F for some element of
E. Such an is called a primitive element of E. We shall show that (at least) all separable
extensions have primitive elements.
p p
Consider for example Q 2; 3=Q. We know (see Exercise 3-3) that its Galois group
over Q is a 4-group h;  i; where
 p p  p p
 p2 D 2
p ;  p 2 D p2 :
 3 D 3  3 D 3

Note that p p p p
 .p2 C p3/ D p 2 C p 3;
 .p2 C p3/ D p2 3;
p
.  /. 2 C 3/ D 2 3:
p p p p
These all differ from p 2 C p3, and so only the identity element of Gal.Q 2; 3=Q/
fixes
p the p elements of Q 2 C 3. According to the fundamental theorem, this implies that
2 C 3 is a primitive element:
p p p p
Q 2; 3 D Q 2 C 3:

It is clear that this argument should work much more generally.

Recall that an element algebraic over a field F is separable over F if its minimum
polynomial over F has no multiple roots.

T HEOREM 5.1 Let E D F 1 ; :::; r be a finite extension of F , and assume that 2 ; :::; r
are separable over F (but not necessarily 1 ). Then there is an element 2 E such that
E D F .

P ROOF. For finite fields, we proved this in (4.19). Hence we may assume F to be infinite.
It suffices to prove the statement for r D 2, for then

F 1 ; 2 ; : : : ; r D F 10 ; 3 ; : : : ; r D F 100 ; 4 ; : : : ; r D


:

59
60 5. A PPLICATIONS OF G ALOIS T HEORY

Thus let E D F ; with separable over F . Let f and g be the minimum polynomials
of and over F , and let L be a splitting field for fg containing E. Let 1 D ; : : : ; s be
the roots of f in L, and let 1 D , 2 ; : : : ; t be the roots of g. For j 1, j , and so
the the equation
i C Xj D C X;
has exactly one solution, namely, X D i . If we choose a c 2 F different from any of
j
these solutions (using that F is infinite), then

i C cj C c unless i D 1 D j:

Let D C c. I claim that

F ; D F .
The polynomials g.X / and f . cX / have coefficients in F , and have as a root:

g./ D 0; f . c/ D f ./ D 0:

In fact, is their only common root, because we chose c so that cj i unless

i D 1 D j . Therefore
gcd.g.X /; f . cX // D X .
Here we computed the gcd in LX , but this is equal to the gcd computed in F X
(Proposition 2.10). Hence 2 F , and this implies that D c also lies in F . This
proves the claim. 2

R EMARK 5.2 When F is infinite, the proof shows that can be chosen to be of the form

D 1 C c2 2 C


C cr r ; ci 2 F:

If F 1 ; : : : ; r is Galois over F , then an element of this form will be a primitive element

provided it is moved by every nontrivial element of the Galois group. This remark makes it
very easy to write down primitive elements.

Our hypotheses are minimal: if two of the s are not separable, then the extension need
not be simple. Before giving an example to illustrate this, we need another result.

P ROPOSITION 5.3 Let E D F be a simple algebraic extension of F . Then there are only
finitely many intermediate fields M ,

F  M  E:

P ROOF. Let M be such a field, and let g.X / be the minimum polynomial of over M . Let
M 0 be the subfield of E generated over F by the coefficients of g.X /. Clearly M 0  M ,
but (equally clearly) g.X / is the minimum polynomial of over M 0 . Hence

EW M 0 D deg.g/ D EW M ;

and so M D M 0 ; we have shown that M is generated by the coefficients of g.X /.

Let f .X / be the minimum polynomial of over F . Then g.X / divides f .X / in
M X, and hence also in EX . Therefore, there are only finitely many possible gs, and
consequently only finitely many possible M s. 2
 Fundamental Theorem of Algebra 61

R EMARK 5.4 (a) Note that the proof in fact gives a description of all the intermediate
fields: each is generated over F by the coefficients of a factor g.X / of f .X / in EX . The
coefficients of such a g.X / are partially symmetric polynomials in the roots of f .X / (that
is, fixed by some, but not necessarily all, of the permutations of the roots).
(b) The proposition has a converse: if E is a finite extension of F and there are only
finitely many intermediate fields M , F  M  E, then E is a simple extension of F . This
gives another proof of Theorem 5.1 in the case that E is separable over F , because Galois
theory shows that there are only finitely many intermediate fields in this case (even the Galois
closure of E over F has only finitely many intermediate fields).

E XAMPLE 5.5 The simplest nonsimple algebraic extension is k.X; Y /  k.X p ; Y p /, where
k is an algebraically closed field of characteristic p. Let F D k.X p ; Y p /. For all c 2 k, we
have
k.X; Y / D F X; Y  F X C cY  F
with the degree of each extension equal to p. If

F X C cY D F X C c 0 Y ; c c0;

then F X C cY would contain both X and Y , which is impossible because k.X; Y /W F D

p 2 . Hence there are infinitely many distinct intermediate fields.1
Alternatively, note that the degree of k.X; Y / over k.X p ; Y p / is p 2 , but if 2 k.X; Y /,
then p 2 k.X p ; Y p /, and so generates a field of degree at most p over k.X p ; Y p /.

Fundamental Theorem of Algebra

We finally prove the misnamed2 fundamental theorem of algebra.

T HEOREM 5.6 The field C of complex numbers is algebraically closed.

P ROOF. We define C to be the splitting field of X 2 C 1 over R, and we let i denote a root
of X 2 C 1 in C. Thus C D Ri . We have to show (see 1.44) that every f .X / 2 RX has a
root in C.
The two facts we need to assume about R are:
Positive real numbers have square roots.
Every polynomial of odd degree with real coefficients has a real root.
Both are immediate consequences of the Intermediate Value Theorem, which says that
a continuous function on a closed interval takes every value between its maximum and
minimum values (inclusive). (Intuitively, this says that, unlike the rationals, the real line has
no holes.)
1 Zariski showed that there is even an intermediate field M that is not isomorphic to F .X; Y /, and Piotr

Blass showed in his thesis (University of Michigan 1977), using the methods of algebraic geometry, that there is
an infinite sequence of intermediate fields, no two of which are isomorphic.
2 Because it is not strictly a theorem in algebra: it is a statement about R whose construction is part of

analysis (or maybe topology). In fact, I prefer the proof based on Liouvilles theorem in complex analysis to
the more algebraic proof given in the text: if f .z/ is a polynomial without a root in C, then f .z/ 1 will be
bounded and holomorphic on the whole complex plane, and hence (by Liouville) constant. The Fundamental
Theorem was quite a difficult theorem to prove. Gauss gave a proof in his doctoral dissertation in 1798 in which
he used some geometric arguments which he didnt justify. He gave the first rigorous proof in 1816. The elegant
argument given here is a simplification by Emil Artin of earlier proofs (see Artin, E., Algebraische Konstruction
reeller Korper, Hamb. Abh., Bd. 5 (1926), 85-90; translation available in Artin, Emil. Exposition by Emil Artin:
a selection. AMS; LMS 2007).
62 5. A PPLICATIONS OF G ALOIS T HEORY

We first show that every element of C has a square root. Write D a C bi, with a; b 2 R,
and choose c; d to be real numbers such that
p p
2 .a C a2 C b 2 / 2 . a C a2 C b 2 /
c D ; d D :
2 2
Then c 2 d 2 D a and .2cd /2 D b 2 . If we choose the signs of c and d so that cd has the
same sign as b, then .c C d i /2 D and so c C d i is a square root of .
Let f .X / 2 RX , and let E be a splitting field for f .X /.X 2 C 1/ we have to show
that E D C. Since R has characteristic zero, the polynomial is separable, and so E is Galois
over R. Let G be its Galois group, and let H be a Sylow 2-subgroup of G.
Let M D E H . Then M has of degree .GW H / over R, which is odd. Therefore, the
minimum polynomial over R of any 2 M has odd degree (by the multiplicativity of
degrees, 1.20), and so has a real root. Therefore the minimum polynomial has degree 1, and
2 R. It follows that M D R and G D H .
We now know that Gal.E=C/ is a 2-group. If it is 1, then it has a subgroup N of
index 2 (GT 4.17). The field E N has degree 2 over C, and so it is generated by the square
root of an element of C (see 3.24), but we have seen that such square roots lie in C. Hence
E N D C, which is a contradiction. Thus Gal.E=C/ D 1 and E D C. 2

C OROLLARY 5.7 (a) The field C is the algebraic closure of R.

(b) The set of all algebraic numbers is an algebraic closure of Q:

P ROOF. Part (a) is obvious from the definition of algebraic closure (1.43), and (b) follows
from Corollary 1.46. 2

Cyclotomic extensions
A primitive nth root of 1 in F is an element of order n in F  . Such an element can exist
only if F has characteristic 0 or characteristic p not dividing n.

P ROPOSITION 5.8 Let F be a field of characteristic 0 or characteristic p not dividing n.

Let E be the splitting field of X n 1.
(a) There exists a primitive nth root of 1 in E.
(b) If  is a primitive nth root of 1 in E, then E D F .
(c) The field E is Galois over F ; for each  2 Gal.E=F /, there is an i 2 .Z=nZ/ such
that   D  i for all  with  n D 1; the map  7! i is an injective homomorphism

Gal.E=F / ! .Z=nZ/ .

P ROOF. (a) The roots of X n 1 are distinct, because its derivative nX n 1 has only zero
as a root (here we use the condition on the characteristic), and so E contains n distinct nth
roots of 1. The nth roots of 1 form a finite subgroup of E  , and so (see Exercise 3) they
form a cyclic group. Every generator has order n, and hence will be a primitive nth root of 1.
(b) The roots of X n 1 are the powers of , and F  contains them all.
(c) The extension E=F is Galois because E is the splitting field of a separable polynomial.
If 0 is one primitive nth root of 1, then the remaining primitive nth roots of 1 are the elements
0i with i relatively prime to n. Since, for any automorphism  of E,  0 is again a primitive
nth root of 1, it equals 0i for some i relatively prime to n, and the map  7! i mod n is
 Cyclotomic extensions 63

injective because 0 generates E over F . It obviously is a homomorphism. Moreover, for

any other nth root of 1,  D 0m ,

  D . 0 /m D 0i m D  i : 2

The map  7! i W Gal.F =F / ! .Z=nZ/ need not be surjective. For example, if
F D C, then its image is f1g, and if F D R, it is either f1g or f 1; 1g. On the other hand,
when n D p is prime, we saw in (1.41) that QW Q D p 1, and so the map is surjective.
We now prove that the map is surjective for all n when F D Q.
The polynomial X n 1 has some obvious factors in QX , namely, the polynomials
X d 1 for any d jn. The quotient of X n 1 by all these factors for d < n is called the nth
cyclotomic polynomial n . Thus
Y
n D .X / (product over the primitive nth roots of 1/:

It has degree '.n/, the order of .Z=nZ/ . Since every nth root of 1 is a primitive d th root
of 1 for exactly one d dividing n, we see that
Y
Xn 1 D d .X /:
d jn

For example, 1 .X / D X 1, 2 .X / D X C 1, 3 .X / D X 2 C X C 1, and

X6 1
6 .X / D D X2 X C 1:
.X 1/.X C 1/.X 2 C X C 1/
This gives an easy inductive method of computing the cyclotomic polynomials. Alternatively
type polcyclo(n,X) in PARI.
Because X n 1 has coefficients in Z and is monic, every monic factor of it in QX has
coefficients in Z (see 1.14). In particular, the cyclotomic polynomials lie in ZX .

L EMMA 5.9 Let F be a field of characteristic 0 or p not dividing n, and let  be a primitive
nth root of 1 in some extension field. The following are equivalent:
(a) the nth cyclotomic polynomial n is irreducible;
(b) the degree F W F D '.n/;
(c) the homomorphism
Gal.F =F / ! .Z=nZ/
is an isomorphism.

P ROOF. Because  is a root of n , the minimum polynomial of  divides n . It is equal to

it if and only if F W F D '.n/, which is true if and only if the injection Gal.F =F / ,!
.Z=nZ/ is onto. 2

T HEOREM 5.10 The nth cyclotomic polynomial n is irreducible in QX .

P ROOF. Let f .X / be a monic irreducible factor of n in QX . Its roots will be primitive

nth roots of 1, and we have to show they include all primitive nth roots of 1. For this it
suffices to show that

 a root of f .X / H)  i a root of f .X / for all i such that gcd.i; n/ D 1:

64 5. A PPLICATIONS OF G ALOIS T HEORY

Such an i is a product of primes not dividing n, and so it suffices to show that

 a root of f .X / H)  p a root of f .X / for all primes p not dividing n:

Write
n .X / D f .X /g.X /.
Proposition 1.14 shows that f .X / and g.X / lie in ZX . Suppose  is a root of f but
that, for some prime p not dividing n,  p is not a root of f . Then  p is a root of g.X /,
g. p / D 0, and so  is a root of g.X p /. As f .X / and g.X p / have a common root, they
have a nontrivial common factor in QX (2.10), which automatically lies in ZX (1.14).
x / for the quotient map ZX ! Fp X , and note that, because f .X /
Write h.X / 7! h.X
and g.X / have a common factor of degree  1 in ZX , so also do fx.X / and gx.X p / in
p

Fp X. The mod p binomial theorem shows that

gx.X /p D gx.X p /

(recall that ap D a for all a 2 Fp ), and so fx.X / and gx.X / have a common factor of degree
 1 in Fp X . Hence X n 1, when regarded as an element of Fp X , has multiple roots, but
we saw in the proof of Proposition 5.8 that it doesnt. Contradiction. 2

R EMARK 5.11 This proof is very old in essence it goes back to Dedekind in 1857
but its general scheme has recently become popular: take a statement in characteristic zero,
reduce modulo p (where the statement may no longer be true), and exploit the existence
of the Frobenius automorphism a 7! ap to obtain a proof of the original statement. For
example, commutative algebraists use this method to prove results about commutative rings,
and there are theorems about complex manifolds that were first proved by reducing things to
characteristic p:
There are some beautiful and mysterious relations between what happens in characteristic
0 and in characteristic p. For example, let f .X1 ; :::; Xn / 2 ZX1 ; :::; Xn . We can
(a) look at the solutions of f D 0 in C, and so get a topological space;
(b) reduce mod p, and look at the solutions of fx D 0 in Fpn .
The Weil conjectures (Weil 1949; proved in part by Grothendieck in the 1960s and com-
pletely by Deligne in 1973) assert that the Betti numbers of the space in (a) control the
cardinalities of the sets in (b).

T HEOREM 5.12 The regular n-gon is constructible if and only if n D 2k p1


ps where the
pi are distinct Fermat primes.

P ROOF. The regular n-gon is constructible if and only if cos 2 n (or  D e

2 i=n ) is con-

structible. We know that Q is Galois over Q, and so (according to 1.37 and 3.23)  is
constructible if and only if QW Q is a power of 2. But (see GT 3.5)
Y Y
'.n/ D .p 1/p n.p/ 1 ; n D p n.p/ ;
pjn

and this is a power of 2 if and only if n has the required form. 2

k
R EMARK 5.13 (a) As mentioned earlier, the Fermat primes are those of the form 22 C 1.
It is known that these numbers are prime when k D 0; 1; 2; 3; 4, but it is not known whether
or not there are more Fermat primes. Thus the problem of listing the n for which the regular
n-gon is constructible is not yet solved. See the Wikipedia (Fermat number).
 Dedekinds theorem on the independence of characters 65

(b) The final section of Gausss, Disquisitiones Arithmeticae (1801) is titled Equations
defining sections of a Circle. In it Gauss proves that the nth roots of 1 form a cyclic group,
that X n 1 is solvable (this was before the theory of abelian groups had been developed,
and before Galois), and that the regular n-gon is constructible when n is as in the Theorem.
He also claimed to have proved the converse statement. This leads some people to credit
him with the above proof of the irreducibility of n , but in the absence of further evidence,
Im sticking with Dedekind.

Dedekinds theorem on the independence of characters

T HEOREM 5.14 (D EDEKIND ) Let F be a field, and let G be a group. Then every finite set
f1 ; : : : ; m g of homomorphisms G ! F  is linearly independent over F , i.e.,
X
ai i D 0 (as a function G ! F / H) a1 D 0; : : : ; am D 0:

P ROOF. We use induction on m. For m D 1, the statement is obvious. Assume it for m 1,

and suppose that, for some set f1 ; : : : ; m g of homomorphisms G ! F  and ai 2 F ,

a1 1 .x/ C a2 2 .x/ C


C am m .x/ D 0 for all x 2 G:

We have to show that the ai are zero. As 1 and 2 are distinct, they will take distinct values
on some g 2 G. On replacing x with gx in the equation, we find that

a1 1 .g/1 .x/ C a2 2 .g/2 .x/ C


C am m .g/m .x/ D 0 for all x 2 G:

On multiplying the first equation by 1 .g/ and subtracting it from the second, we obtain the
equation
a20 2 C


C am
0
m D 0; ai0 D ai .i .g/ 1 .g//:
The induction hypothesis shows that ai0 D 0 for i D 2; 3; : : :. As 2 .g/ 1 .g/ 0, this
implies that a2 D 0, and so

a1 1 C a3 3 C


C am m D 0:

The induction hypothesis now shows that the remaining ai s are also zero. 2

C OROLLARY 5.15 Let F and E be fields, and let 1 ; :::; m be distinct homomorphisms
F ! E. Then 1 ; :::; m are linearly independent over E:

P ROOF. Apply the theorem to i D i jF  . 2

C OROLLARY 5.16 Let E be a finite separable extension of F of degree m. Let 1 ; : : : ; m

be a basis for E over F , and let 1 ; : : : ; m be distinct F -homomorphisms from E into a
field . Then the matrix whose .i; j /th-entry is i j is invertible.

P ROOF. If not, there exist ci 2 such that m

P
i D1 ci i . / D 0 for all j . But the map
Pj m
P m
c 
i D1 i i W E ! is F -linear, and so this implies that i D1 ci i ./ D 0 for all 2 E,
which contradicts Corollary 5.15. 2
66 5. A PPLICATIONS OF G ALOIS T HEORY

The normal basis theorem

D EFINITION 5.17 Let E be a finite Galois extension of F with Galois group G. A basis for
E as an F -vector space is called a normal basis if it consists of the conjugates of a single
element of E.

In other words, a normal basis is one of the form

f j  2 Gg

for some 2 E.

T HEOREM 5.18 (N ORMAL BASIS THEOREM ) Every Galois extension has a normal basis.

The group algebra F G of a group G is the F -vector space with basis the elements of
G
P endowed with the multiplication extending that of G. Thus an element of F G is a sum
 2G a  , a 2 F , and
P
P
P P

 a   b  D  1 2 D a1 b2 :

Any F -linear action of G on an F -vector space V extends uniquely to an action of F G on

V.
Let E=F be a Galois extension with Galois group G. Then E is an F G-module, and
Theorem 5.18 says that there exists an element 2 E such that the map
P P
 a  7!  a  W F G ! E

is an isomorphism of F G-modules, i.e., that E is a free F G-module of rank 1:

We give three proofs of Theorem 5.18. The first assumes that F is infinite and the second
that G is cyclic. Since every Galois extension of a finite field is cyclic (4.20), this covers all
cases. The third proof applies to both finite and infinite fields, but uses the Krull-Schmidt
theorem.

P ROOF FOR INFINITE FIELDS

L EMMA 5.19 Let f 2 F X1 ; : : : ; Xm , and let S be an infinite subset of F . If f .a1 ; : : : ; am / D
0 for all a1 ; : : : ; am 2 S , then f is the zero polynomial (i.e., f D 0 in F X1 ; : : : ; Xm ).

P ROOF. We prove this by induction on m. For m D 1, the lemma becomes the statement
that a nonzero polynomial in one symbol has only finitely many roots (see 1.7). For m > 1,
write f as a polynomial in Xm with coefficients in F X1 ; : : : ; Xm 1 , say,
X
i
f D ci .X1 ; : : : ; Xm 1 /Xm :

For any m 1-tuple a1 ; : : : ; am 1 of elements of S,

f .a1 ; : : : ; am 1 ; Xm /

is a polynomial in Xm having every element of S as a root. Therefore, each of its coefficients

is zero: ci .a1 ; : : : ; am 1 / D 0 for all i . Since this holds for all .a1 ; : : : ; am 1 /, the induction
hypothesis shows that ci .X1 ; : : : ; Xm 1 / is the zero polynomial. 2
 The normal basis theorem 67

We now prove 5.18 in the case that F is infinite. Number the elements of G as 1 ; : : : ; m
(with 1 D 1).
Let f 2 F X1 ; : : : ; Xm have the property that

f .1 ; : : : ; m / D 0

for all 2 E. For a basis 1 ; : : : ; m of E over F , let

g.Y1 ; : : : ; Ym / D f . m
P Pm
i D1 Yi 1 i ; i D1 Yi 2 i ; : : :/ 2 EY1 ; : : : ; Ym .

The hypothesis on f implies that g.a1 ; : : : ; am / D 0 for all ai 2 F , and so g D 0 (because

F is infinite). But the matrix .i j / is invertible (5.16). Since g is obtained from f by an
invertible linear change of variables, f can be obtained from g by the inverse linear change
of variables. Therefore it also is zero.
Write Xi D X.i /, and let A D .X.i j //, i.e., A is the m  m matrix having Xk in
the .i; j /th place if i j D k . Then det.A/ is a polynomial in X1 ; : : : ; Xm , say, det.A/ D
h.X1 ; : : : ; Xm /. Clearly, h.1; 0; : : : ; 0/ is the determinant of a matrix having exactly one 1 in
each row and each column and its remaining entries 0. Hence the rows of the matrix are a
permutation of the rows of the identity matrix, and so its determinant is 1. In particular, h is
not identically zero, and so there exists an 2 E  such that h.1 ; : : : ; m / .D det.i j /)
is nonzero. We shall show that fi g is a normal basis. For this, it suffices to show that i
are linearly independent over F . Suppose
Xm
aj j D 0
j D1

for some aj 2 F . On applying 1 ; : : : ; m successively, we obtain a system of m-equations

X
aj i j D 0

in the m unknowns aj . Because this system of equations is nonsingular, the aj s are zero.
This completes the proof of the theorem in the case that F is infinite.

P ROOF WHEN G IS CYCLIC .

Assume that G is generated by an element 0 of order n. Then EW F D n. The minimum

polynomial of 0 regarded as an endomorphism of the F -vector space E is the monic
polynomial in F X of least degree such that P .0 / D 0 (as an endomorphism of E). It
has the property that it divides every polynomial Q.X / 2 F X such that Q.0 / D 0. Since
0n D 1, P .X / divides X n 1. On the other hand, Dedekinds theorem on the independence
of characters (5.14) implies that 1; 0 ; : : : ; 0n 1 are linearly independent over F , and so
deg P .X / > n 1. We conclude that P .X / D X n 1. Therefore, as an F X -module
with X acting as 0 , E is isomorphic to F X =.X n 1/. For any generator of E as an
F X-module, ; 0 ; : : : ; 0 n 1 is an F -basis for E.

U NIFORM PROOF
The Krull-Schmidt theorem says that every module M of finite length over a ring can be
written as a direct sum of indecomposable modules and that the indecomposableLmodules
occurring in a decomposition are unique up to order and isomorphism. Thus M D i mi Mi
where Mi is indecomposable and mi Mi denotes the direct sum of mi copies of Mi ; the set
of isomorphism classes of the Mi is uniquely determined and, when we choose the Mi to
68 5. A PPLICATIONS OF G ALOIS T HEORY

be pairwise nonisomorphic, each mi is uniquely determined. From this it follows that two
modules M and M 0 of finite length over a ring are isomorphic if mM  mM 0 for some
m  1.
Consider the F -vector space E F E. We let E act on the first factor, and G act on the
second factor (so a.x y/ D ax y, a 2 E, and  .x y/ D x y,  2 G). We shall
prove Theorem 5.18 by showing that

F G


F G  E F E  E


E

n n

as F G-modules (n D EW F ).
For  2 G, let  W E F E ! E denote the map x y 7! x
y. Then  is obviously
E-linear, and  . z/ D   .z/ for all  2 G and z 2 E F E. I claim that f j  2 Gg is
an E-basis for HomE -linear .E F E; E/. As P this space has dimension n, it suffices to show
that the set is linearly independent. But if  c  D 0, c 2 E, then
X X
0D c . .1 y// D c
y
 

for all y 2 E, which implies that all c D 0 by Dedekinds theorem 5.14.

Consider the map
X
W E F E ! EG; z 7!  .z/
 1 :


Then  is E-linear. If .z/ D 0, then  .z/ D 0 for all  2 G, and so z D 0 in E F E

(because the  s span the dual space). Therefore  is injective, and as E F E and EG
both have dimension n over E, it is an isomorphism. For  2 G,
X
. z/ D  . z/
 1

X
D   .z/
 .  / 1

D  .z/;

and so  is an isomorphism of EG-modules. Thus

E K E ' EG  F G


F G

as an F G-module.
On the other hand, for any basis fe1 ; : : : ; en g for E as an F -vector space,

E F E D .e1 E/


.en E/ ' E


E

as F G-modules. This completes the proof.

N OTES The normal basis theorem was stated for finite fields by Eisenstein in 1850, and proved for
finite fields by Hensel in 1888. Dedekind used normal bases in number fields in his work on the
discriminant in 1880, but he had no general proof. Noether gave a proof for some infinite fields
(1932) and Deuring gave a uniform proof (also 1932). The above proof simplifies that of Deuring
see Blessenohl, Dieter. On the normal basis theorem. Note Mat. 27 (2007), 510. According to
the Wikipedia, normal bases are frequently used in cryptographic applications that are based on the
discrete logarithm problem such as elliptic curve cryptography.
 Hilberts Theorem 90 69

Hilberts Theorem 90
Let G be a group. A G-module is an abelian group M together with an action of G, i.e., a
map G  M ! M such that
(a)  .m C m0 / D  m C  m0 for all  2 G, m; m0 2 M ;
(b) .  /.m/ D  . m/ for all ;  2 G, m 2 M ;
(c) 1m D m for all m 2 M .
Thus, to give an action of G on M is the same as to give a homomorphism G ! Aut.M /
(automorphisms of M as an abelian group).

E XAMPLE 5.20 Let E be a Galois extension of F with Galois group G. Then .E; C/ and
.E  ;
/ are G-modules.

Let M be a G-module. A crossed homomorphism is a map f W G ! M such that

f .  / D f . / C f . / for all ;  2 G.

Note that the condition implies that f .1/ D f .1
1/ D f .1/ C f .1/, and so f .1/ D 0:

E XAMPLE 5.21 (a) Let f W G ! M be a crossed homomorphism. For any  2 G,

f . 2 / D f . / C f . /;
f . 3 / D f .
 2 / D f . / C f . / C  2 f . /




f . / D f . / C f . / C


C  n
n 1
f . /:

Thus, if G is a cyclic group of order n generated by , then a crossed homomorphism

f W G ! M is determined by its value, x say, on , and x satisfies the equation

x C x C


C  n 1
x D 0; (*)

Moreover, if x 2 M satisfies (*), then the formulas f . i / D x C x C


C  i 1 x define a

crossed homomorphism f W G ! M . Thus, for a finite group G D h i, there is a one-to-one
correspondence
f $f . /
fcrossed homs f W G ! M g ! fx 2 M satisfying (*)g:

(b) For every x 2 M , we obtain a crossed homomorphism by putting

f . / D x x; all  2 G:

A crossed homomorphism of this form is called a principal crossed homomorphism.

(c) If G acts trivially on M , i.e.,  m D m for all  2 G and m 2 M , then a crossed
homomorphism is simply a homomorphism, and there are no nonzero principal crossed
homomorphisms.

The sum and difference of two crossed homomorphisms is again a crossed homo-
morphism, and the sum and difference of two principal crossed homomorphisms is again
principal. Thus we can define
fcrossed homomorphismsg
H 1 .G; M / D
fprincipal crossed homomorphismsg
70 5. A PPLICATIONS OF G ALOIS T HEORY

(quotient abelian group). The cohomology groups H n .G; M / have been defined for all
n 2 N, but since this was not done until the twentieth century, it will not be discussed in this
course. An exact sequence of G-modules
0 ! M 0 ! M ! M 00 ! 0
gives rise to an exact sequence
d
0 ! M 0G ! M G ! M 00G ! H 1 .G; M 0 / ! H 1 .G; M / ! H 1 .G; M 00 /:
Let m00 2 M 00G , and let m 2 M map to m00 . For all  2 G,  m m lies in the submodule
M 0 of M , and the crossed homomorphism  7!  m mW G ! M 0 represents d.m00 /. It is
an exercise for the reader to check the exactness.
E XAMPLE 5.22 Let W Xz ! X be the universal covering space of a topological space X ,
and let be the group of covering transformations. Under some fairly general hypotheses,
a -module M will define a sheaf M on X, and H 1 .X; M/ ' H 1 . ; M /. For example,
when M D Z with the trivial action of , this becomes the isomorphism H 1 .X; Z/ '
H 1 . ; Z/ D Hom. ; Z/.
T HEOREM 5.23 Let E be a Galois extension of F with group G; then H 1 .G; E  / D 0, i.e.,
every crossed homomorphism G ! E  is principal.
P ROOF. Let f be a crossed homomorphism G ! E  . In multiplicative notation, this
means,
f .  / D f . /
 .f . //; ;  2 G;
and we have to find a 2 E  such that f . / D  for all  2 G. Because the f . / are
nonzero, Corollary 5.15 implies that
X
f . /W E ! E
 2G
is not the zero map, i.e., there exists an 2 E such that
def
X
D f . / 0:
 2G
But then, for  2 G,
X
 D  .f . //
  ./
X 2G
1
D f . / f .  /
  ./
 2G
X
1
D f . / f .  /  ./;
 2G

which equals f . / 1 because, as  runs over G, so also does   . Therefore, f . / D  . /
and we can take D 1 . 2

Let E be a Galois extension of F with Galois group G. We define the norm of an

element 2 E to be Y
Nm D  :
 2G
For  2 G, Y
 .Nm / D   D Nm ;
 2G
and so Nm 2 F . The map
7! Nm W E  ! F 
is a obviously a homomorphism.
 Cyclic extensions 71

p
E XAMPLE 5.24 The norm map C  ! R is 7! jj2 and the norm map Q d  ! Q
p
is a C b d 7! a2 db 2 .

We are interested in determining the kernel of the norm map. Clearly an element of the

form  has norm 1, and our next result show that, for cyclic extensions, all elements with
norm 1 are of this form.

C OROLLARY 5.25 (H ILBERT S THEOREM 90) 3 Let E be a finite cyclic extension of F

with Galois group hiI if NmE=F D 1, then D = for some 2 E.

P ROOF. Let m D EW F . The condition on is that



 m 1 D 1, and so (see 5.21a)

there is a crossed homomorphism f W h i ! E  with f . / D . Theorem 5.23 now shows
that f is principal, which means that there is a with f . / D =: 2

Cyclic extensions
Let F be a field containing a primitive nth root of 1, some n  2, and write n for the group
of nth roots of 1 in F . Then n is a cyclic subgroup of F  of order n with generator . In
this section, we classify the cyclic extensions of degree n of F .
Consider a field E D F generated by an element whose nth power (but no smaller
power) is in F . Then is a root of X n a, and the remaining roots are the elements  i ,
1  i  n 1. Since these are all in E, E is a Galois extension of F , with Galois group
G say. For every  2 G,  is also a root of X n a, and so  D  i for some i . Hence
= 2 n . The map
 7!  =W G ! n
doesnt change when is replaced by a conjugate, and it follows that the map is a homo-
morphism:  D  . / 
 . Because generates E over F , the map is injective. If it
is not surjective, then G maps into a subgroup d of n , some d jn, d < n. In this case,
.=/d D 1, i.e.,  d D d , for all  2 G, and so d 2 F . Thus the map is surjective.
We have proved the first part of the following statement.

P ROPOSITION 5.26 Let F be a field containing a primitive nth root of 1. Let E D F

where n 2 F and no smaller power of is in F . Then E is a Galois extension of F with
cyclic Galois group of order n. Conversely, if E is a cyclic extension of F of degree n, then
E D F for some with n 2 F .

P ROOF. It remains to prove the last statement. Let  generate G and let  generate n . It
suffices to find an element 2 E  such that  D  1 , for then n 2 F , and n is the
1; ; : : : ;  n 1 are distinct homomorphisms F  ! F  ,
smallest power of that lies in F . As P
Dedekinds Theorem 5.14 shows that ni D01  i  i is not the zero function, and so there exists
def P
a such that D  i  i 0. Now  D  1 . 2

A SIDE 5.27 (a) It is not difficult to show that the polynomial X n a is irreducible in F X if a is
not a pth power for any prime p dividing n. When we drop the condition that F contains a primitive
nth root of 1, this is still true except that, if 4jn, we need to add the condition that a 4F 4 . See
Lang, Algebra, Springer, 2002, VI, 9, Theorem 9.1, p.297.
3 This is Satz 90 in Hilberts book, Theorie der Algebraischen Zahlkorper, 1897. The theorem was discovered

by Kummer in the special case of Qp =Q, and generalized to Theorem 5.23 by E. Noether. Theorem 5.23, as
well as various vast generalizations of it, are also referred to as Hilberts Theorem 90.
For an illuminating discussion of Hilberts book, see the introduction to the English translation (Springer
1998) written by F. Lemmermeyer and N. Schappacher.
72 5. A PPLICATIONS OF G ALOIS T HEORY

(b) If F has characteristic p (hence has no pth roots of 1 other than 1), then X p X a is
irreducible in F X unless a D b p b for some b 2 F , and when it is irreducible, its Galois group is
cyclic of order p (generated by 7! C 1 where is a root). Moreover, every extension of F which
is cyclic of degree p is the splitting field of such a polynomial.

P ROPOSITION 5.28 Let F be a field containing a primitive nth root of 1. Two cyclic
1 1
extensions F a n and F b n of F of degree n are equal if and only if a D b r c n for some
r 2 Z relatively prime to n and some c 2 F  , i.e., if and only if a and b generate the same
subgroup of F  =F n .

P ROOF. Only the only if part requires proof. We are given that F D F with n D a
and n D b. Let  be the generator of the Galois group with  D , and let  D  i ,
.i; n/ D 1. We can write
n
X1
D cj j ; cj 2 F;
j D0

and then
n
X1
 D cj  j j :
j D0

On comparing this with  D  i , we find that  i cj D  j cj for all j . Hence cj D 0 for

j i , and therefore D ci i . 2

Kummer theory
Throughout this section, F is a field containing a primitive nth root of 1, . In particular, F
either has characteristic 0 or characteristic p not dividing n.
The last two proposition give us a complete classification of the cyclic extensions of F
of degree n. We now extend this to a classification of all abelian extensions of exponent
n. (Recall that a group G has exponent n if  n D 1 for all  2 G and n is the smallest
positive integer for which this is true. A finite abelian group of exponent n is isomorphic to
a subgroup of .Z=nZ/r for some r.)
Let E=F be a finite Galois extension with Galois group G. From the exact sequence
x7!x n
1 ! n ! E ! E n ! 1

we obtain a cohomology sequence

x7!x n
1 ! n ! F  ! F  \ E n ! H 1 .G; n / ! 1:

The 1 at the right is because of Hilberts Theorem 90. Thus we obtain an isomorphism

F  \ E n =F n ! Hom.G; n /:

This map can be described as follows: let a be an element of F  that becomes an nth power
in E, say a D n ; then a maps to the homomorphism  7!  . If G is abelian of exponent
n, then
jHom.G; n /j D .GW 1/:
 Kummer theory 73

T HEOREM 5.29 The map

E 7! F  \ E n
defines a one-to-one correspondence between the finite abelian extensions of F of exponent
n contained in some fixed algebraic closure of F and the subgroups B of F  containing
1
F n as a subgroup of finite index. The extension corresponding to B is F B n , the
smallest subfield of containing F and an nth root of each element of B. If E $ B, then
EW F D .BW F n /.

P ROOF. For any finite Galois extension E of F , define B.E/ D F  \ E n . Then E 

1 1
F B.E/ n , and for any group B containing F n as a subgroup of finite index, B.F B n / 
B. Therefore,
1 1
EW F  F B.E/ n W F D .B.F B.E/ n /W F n /  .B.E/W F n /:

If E=F is abelian of exponent n, then EW F D .B.E/W F n /, and so equalities hold through-

1
out: E D F B.E/ n .
Next consider a group B containing F n as a subgroup of finite index, and let E D
1 1
F B n . Then E is a composite of the extensions F a n for a running through a set of
generators for B=F n , and so it is a finite abelian extension of exponent n. Therefore
1
!
an
a 7!  7! 1 W B.E/=F n ! Hom.G; n /; G D Gal.E=F /;
an

is an isomorphism. This map sends B=F n isomorphically onto the subgroup Hom.G=H; n /
1 1
of Hom.G; n / where H consists of the  2 G such that  a n =a n D 1 for all a 2 B. But
1 1
such a  fixes all a n for a 2 B, and therefore is the identity automorphism on E D F B n .
1
This shows that B.E/ D B, and hence E 7! B.E/ and B 7! F B n are inverse bijections.2

E XAMPLE 5.30 (a) The quadratic extensions of R are (certainly) in one-to-one correspon-
dence with the subgroups of R =R2 D f1g.
(b) The finite abelian extensions of Q of exponent 2 are in one-to-one correspondence
with the finite subgroups of Q =Q2 , which is a direct sum of cyclic groups of order 2
indexed by the prime numbers plus 1 (modulo squares, every nonzero rational number has
a unique representative of the form p1


pr with the pi prime numbers).

R EMARK 5.31 Let E be an abelian extension of F of exponent n, and let

B.E/ D fa 2 F  j a becomes an nth power in Eg:

There is a perfect pairing

1
 a n B.E/
.a;  / 7! 1 W n  Gal.E=F / ! n :
an F
Cf. Exercise 2-1 for the case n D 2.
74 5. A PPLICATIONS OF G ALOIS T HEORY

Proof of Galoiss solvability theorem

L EMMA 5.32 Let f 2 F X be separable, and let F 0 be an extension field of F . Then the
Galois group of f as an element of F 0 X is a subgroup of that of f as an element of F X :
P ROOF. Let E 0 be a splitting field for f over F 0 , and let 1 ; : : : ; m be the roots of f .X / in
E 0 . Then E D F 1 ; :::; m is a splitting field of f over F . Every element of Gal.E 0 =F 0 /
permutes the i and so maps E into itself. The map  7! jE is an injection Gal.E 0 =F 0 / !
Gal.E=F /: 2

T HEOREM 5.33 Let F be a field of characteristic 0. A polynomial in F X is solvable if

and only if its Galois group is solvable.
P ROOF. (H: Let f 2 F X have solvable Galois group Gf . Let F 0 D F  where  is a
primitive nth root of 1 for some large n for example, n D .deg f / will do. The lemma
shows that the Galois group G of f as an element of F 0 X is a subgroup of Gf , and hence
is also solvable (GT 6.6a). This means that there is a sequence of subgroups

G D G0  G1 


 Gm 1  Gm D f1g

such that each Gi is normal in Gi 1 and Gi 1 =Gi is cyclic. Let E be a splitting field of
f .X/ over F 0 , and let Fi D E Gi . We have a sequence of fields

F  F  D F 0 D F0  F1  F2 


 Fm D E
F WF
with Fi cyclic over Fi 1 . Theorem 5.26 shows that Fi D Fi 1 i with i i i 1 2 Fi 1 ,
each i , and this shows that f is solvable.
H): It suffices to show that Gf is a quotient of a solvable group (GT 6.6a). Hence it
suffices to find a solvable extension Ez of F such that f .X / splits in EX
z .
We are given that there exists a tower of fields

F D F0  F1  F2 


 Fm

such that
(a) Fi D Fi 1 i , iri 2 Fi 1;
(b) Fm contains a splitting field for f:
Let n D r1


rm , and let be a field Galois over F and containing (a copy of) Fm and a
primitive nth root  of 1: For example, choose a primitive element for Fm over F (see 5.1),
and take to be a splitting field of g.X /.X n 1/ where g.X / is the minimum polynomial
of over F .
Let G be the Galois group of =F , and let Ez be the Galois closure of Fm  in .
According to (3.17a), Ez is the composite of the fields Fm ,  2 G, and so it is generated
over F by the elements

; 1 ; 2 ; : : : ; m ;  1 ; : : : ;  m ;  0 1 ; : : : :

We adjoin these elements to F one by one to get a sequence of fields

F  F   F ; 1 


 F 0  F 00 


 Ez

in which each field F 00 is obtained from its predecessor F 0 by adjoining an rth root of an
element of F 0 (r D r1 ; : : : ; rm ; or n). According to (5.8) and (5.26), each of these extensions
is abelian (and even cyclic after for the first), and so E=F z is a solvable extension. 2
 Symmetric polynomials 75

A SIDE 5.34 One of Galoiss major achievements was to show that an irreducible polynomial of
prime degree in QX is solvable by radicals if and only if its splitting field is generated by any two
roots of the polynomial.4 This theorem of Galois answered a question on mathoverflow in 2010
(mo24081). For a partial generalization of Galoiss theorem, see mo110727.

Symmetric polynomials
Let R be a commutative ring (with 1). A polynomial P .X1 ; :::; Xn / 2 RX1 ; : : : ; Xn is said
to be symmetric if it is unchanged when its variables are permuted, i.e., if

P .X .1/ ; : : : ; X .n/ / D P .X1 ; : : : ; Xn /; all  2 Sn :

For example
P
p1 D Pi Xi D X1 C X2 C


C Xn ;
p2 D XX D X1 X2 C X1 X3 C


C X1 Xn C X2 X3 C


C Xn 1 Xn ;
Pi <j i j
p3 D i <j <k Xi Xj Xk ; D X1 X2 X3 C






P
pr D i1 <


<ir Xi1 :::Xir




pn D X1 X2


Xn

are each symmetric because pr is the sum of all monomials of degree r made up out of dis-
tinct Xi s. These particular polynomials are called the elementary symmetric polynomials.

T HEOREM 5.35 (S YMMETRIC POLYNOMIALS THEOREM ) Every symmetric polynomial

P .X1 ; :::; Xn / in RX1 ; :::; Xn is equal to a polynomial in the elementary symmetric poly-
nomials with coefficients in R, i.e., P 2 Rp1 ; :::; pn :

P ROOF. We define an ordering on the monomials in the Xi by requiring that

j j
X1i1 X2i2


Xnin > X1 1 X2 2


Xnjn

if either
i1 C i2 C


C in > j1 C j2 C


C jn
or equality holds and, for some s,

i1 D j1 ; : : : ; is D js ; but isC1 > jsC1 :

For example,
X1 X2 X33 > X1 X22 X3 > X1 X2 X32 :
Let P .X1 ; : : : ; Xn / be a symmetric polynomial, and let X1i1


Xnin be the highest mono-
mial occurring in P with a nonzero coefficient, so

P D cX1i1


Xnin C lower terms, c 0:

Because P is symmetric, it contains all monomials obtained from X1i1


Xnin by permuting
the Xs. Hence i1  i2 


 in .
4 Pour quune equation de degre premier soit resoluble par radicaux, il faut et il suffit que deux quelconques
de ces racines etant connues, les autres sen deduisent rationnellement (Evariste Galois, Bulletin de M. Ferussac,
XIII (avril 1830), p. 271).
76 5. A PPLICATIONS OF G ALOIS T HEORY

The highest monomial in pi is X1


Xi , and it follows that the highest monomial in

p1d1


pndn is
X1d1 Cd2 C


Cdn X2d2 C


Cdn


Xndn : (4)
Therefore the highest monomial of

P .X1 ; : : : ; Xn / cp1i1 i2
p2i2 i3



pnin (5)

is strictly less than the highest monomial in P .X1 ; : : : ; Xn /. We can repeat this argument
with the polynomial (5), and after a finite number of steps, we will arrive at a representation
of P as a polynomial in p1 ; : : : ; pn . 2

R EMARK 5.36 (a) The proof is algorithmic. Consider, for example,5

P .X1 ; X2 / D .X1 C 7X1 X2 C X2 /2

D X12 C 2X1 X2 C 14X12 X2 C X22 C 14X1 X22 C 49X12 X22 :

The highest monomial is 49X12 X22 , and so we subtract 49p22 , getting

P 49p22 D X12 C 2X1 X2 C 14X12 X2 C X22 C 14X1 X22 :

Continuing, we get

P 49p22 14p1 p2 D X12 C 2X1 X2 C X22

and finally,
P 49p22 14p1 p2 p12 D 0.
(b) The expression of P as a polynomial in the pi in (5.35) is unique. Otherwise, by
subtracting, we would get a nontrivial polynomial Q.p1 ; : : : ; pn / in the pi which is zero
when expressed as a polynomial in the Xi . But the highest monomials (4) in the polynomials
p1d1


pndn are distinct (the map .d1 ; : : : ; dn / 7! .d1 C


C dn ; : : : ; dn / is injective), and so
they cant cancel.

Let
f .X / D X n C a1 X n 1
C


C an 2 RX ;
and suppose that f splits over some ring S containing R:

f .X / D niD1 .X i /; i 2 S .
Q

Then

a1 D p1 .1 ; : : : ; n /; a2 D p2 .1 ; : : : ; n /; :::; an D . 1/n pn .1 ; : : : ; n /:

Thus the elementary symmetric polynomials in the roots of f .X / lie in R, and so the theorem
implies that every symmetric polynomial in the roots of f .X / lies in R. For example, the
discriminant Y
D.f / D .i j /2
i <j

of f lies in R.
5 From the Wikipedia.
 The general polynomial of degree n 77

T HEOREM 5.37 (S YMMETRIC FUNCTIONS THEOREM ) Let F be a field. When Sn acts on

F .X1 ; :::; Xn / by permuting the Xi , the field of invariants is F .p1 ; :::; pn /:

P ROOF. Let f 2 F .X1 ; : : : ; Xn / be symmetric

Q (i.e., fixed by Sn /. Set f D g= h, g; h 2
F X1 ; : : : ; Xn . The polynomials H D  2Sn  h and Hf are symmetric, and therefore lie
in F p1 ; : : : ; pn by (5.35). Hence their quotient f D Hf =H lies in F .p1 ; : : : ; pn /. 2

C OROLLARY 5.38 The field F .X1 ; :::; Xn / is Galois over F .p1 ; :::; pn / with Galois group
Sn (acting by permuting the Xi ).

P ROOF. We have shown that F .p1 ; : : : ; pn / D F .X1 ; : : : ; Xn /Sn , and so this follows from
(3.10). 2

The field F .X1 ; : : : ; Xn / is the splitting field over F .p1 ; : : : ; pn / of

g.T / D .T X1 /


.T Xn / D X n p1 X n 1
C


C . 1/n pn :

Therefore, the Galois group of g.T / 2 F .p1 ; : : : ; pn /T is Sn .

A SIDE 5.39 Symmetric polynomials played an important role in the work of Galois. In his Memoire
sur les conditions de resolubilite des equations par radicaux, he prove the following proposition:
Let f be a polynomial with coefficients 1 ; : : : ; n . Let x1 ; : : : ; xn be its roots, and let
U; V; : : : be certain numbers that are rational functions in the xi . Then there exists a
group G of permutations of the xi such that the rational functions in the xi that are
fixed under all permutations in G are exactly those that are rationally expressible in
terms of 1 ; : : : ; n and U; V; : : :
When we take U; V; : : : to be the elements of a field E intermediate between the field of coefficients
of f and the splitting field of f , this says that the exists a group G of permutations of the xi whose
fixed field (when G acts on the splitting field) is exactly E.

The general polynomial of degree n

When we say that the roots of
aX 2 C bX C c
are p
b 2 4ac
b
2a
we are thinking of a; b; c as symbols: for any particular values of a; b; c, the formula gives
the roots of the particular equation. We shall prove in this section that there is no similar
formula for the roots of the general polynomial of degree  5.
We define the general polynomial of degree n to be

f .X / D X n t1 X n 1
C


C . 1/n tn 2 F t1 ; :::; tn X

where the ti are symbols. We shall show that, when we regard f as a polynomial in X with
coefficients in the field F .t1 ; : : : ; tn /, its Galois group is Sn . Then Theorem 5.33 proves the
above remark (at least in characteristic zero).

T HEOREM 5.40 The Galois group of the general polynomial of degree n is Sn .

78 5. A PPLICATIONS OF G ALOIS T HEORY

P ROOF. Let f .X / be the general polynomial of degree n,

f .X / D X n t1 X n 1
C


C . 1/n tn 2 F t1 ; :::; tn X :
If we can show that the map
ti 7! pi W F t1 ; : : : ; tn ! F p1 ; : : : ; pn
is injective (i.e., the pi are algebraically independent over F , see p. 109), then it will extend
to an isomorphism
F .t1 ; : : : ; tn / ! F .p1 ; : : : ; pn /
sending f .X / to
g.X / D X n p1 X n 1
C


C . 1/n pn 2 F .p1 ; : : : ; pn /X :
Therefore the statement will follow from Corollary 5.38.
We now prove that the pi are algebraically independent6 . Suppose on the contrary
that there exists a P .t1 ; : : : ; tn / such that P .p1 ; : : : ; pn / D 0. Equation (4), p. 76, shows
that if m1 .t1 ; : : : ; tn / and m2 .t1 ; : : : ; tn / are distinct monomials, then m1 .p1 ; : : : ; pn / and
m2 .p1 ; : : : ; pn / have distinct highest monomials. Therefore, cancellation cant occur, and so
P .t1 ; : : : ; tn / must be the zero polynomial. 2

R EMARK 5.41 Since Sn occurs as a Galois group over Q, and every finite group occurs
as a subgroup of some Sn , it follows that every finite group occurs as a Galois group over
some finite extension of Q, but does every finite Galois group occur as a Galois group over
Q itself? This is known as the inverse Galois problem.
The Hilbert-Noether program for proving this was the following. Hilbert proved that
if G occurs as the Galois group of an extension E  Q.t1 ; :::; tn / (the ti are symbols), then
it occurs infinitely often as a Galois group over Q. For the proof, realize E as the splitting
field of a polynomial f .X / 2 kt1 ; : : : ; tn X and prove that for infinitely many values of
the ti , the polynomial you obtain in QX has Galois group G. (This is quite a difficult
theorem see Serre, J.-P., Lectures on the Mordell-Weil Theorem, 1989, Chapter 9.) Noether
conjectured the following: Let G  Sn act on F .X1 ; :::; Xn / by permuting the Xi ; then
F .X1 ; : : : ; Xn /G  F .t1 ; :::; tn / (for symbols ti ). However, Swan proved in 1969 that the
conjecture is false for G the cyclic group of order 47. Hence this approach can not lead to
a proof that all finite groups occur as Galois groups over Q, but it doesnt exclude other
approaches. For more information on the problem, see Serre, ibid., Chapter 10; Serre, J.-P.,
Topics in Galois Theory, 1992; and the Wikipedia (Inverse Galois problem).
R EMARK 5.42 Take F D C, and consider the subset of CnC1 defined by the equation
Xn T1 X n 1
C


C . 1/n Tn D 0:
It is a beautiful complex manifold S of dimension n. Consider the projection
W S ! Cn ; .x; t1 ; : : : ; tn / 7! .t1 ; : : : ; tn /:
Its fibre over a point .a1 ; : : : ; an / is the set of roots of the polynomial
Xn a1 X n 1
C


C . 1/n an :
The discriminant D.f / of f .X / D X n T1 X n 1 C


C . 1/n Tn is a polynomial in
CT1 ; : : : ; Tn . Let
be the zero set of D.f / in Cn . Then over each point of Cn X
,
there are exactly n points of S , and S X  1 .
/ is a covering space over Cn X
.
6 This
can also be proved by noting that, because F .X1 ; : : : ; Xn / is algebraic over F .p1 ; : : : ; pn /, the latter
must have transcendence degree n (see 8).
 Norms and traces 79

A BRIEF HISTORY
As far back as 1500 BC, the Babylonians (at least) knew a general formula for the roots
of a quadratic polynomial. Cardan (about 1515 AD) found a general formula for the roots
of a cubic polynomial. Ferrari (about 1545 AD) found a general formula for the roots of
a quartic polynomial (he introduced the resolvent cubic, and used Cardans result). Over
the next 275 years there were many fruitless attempts to obtain similar formulas for higher
degree polynomials, until, in about 1820, Ruffini and Abel proved that there are none.

Norms and traces

Recall that, for an n  n matrix A D .aij /
P
Tr.A/ D Pi ai i (trace of A)
det.A/ D  2Sn sign. /a1 .1/


an .n/ ; (determinant of A)
cA .X / D det.XIn A/ (characteristic polynomial of A).

Moreover,
cA .X / D X n Tr.A/X n 1
C


C . 1/n det.A/.
None of these is changed when A is replaced by its conjugate UAU 1 by an invertible
matrix U . Therefore, for any endomorphism of a finite dimensional vector space V , we
can define7
Tr./ D Tr.A/, det./ D det.A/, c .X / D cA .X /
where A is the matrix of with respect to any basis of V . If is a second endomorphism of
V,

Tr. C / D Tr./ C Tr./I

det./ D det./ det./:

Now let E be a finite field extension of F of degree n: An element of E defines an

F -linear map
L W E ! E; x ! 7 x;
and we define
TrE=F ./ D Tr.L / (trace of )
NmE=F ./ D det.L / (norm of )
c;E=F .X / D cL .X / (characteristic polynomial of ):

Thus, TrE=F is a homomorphism .E; C/ ! .F; C/, and NmE=F is a homomorphism

.E  ;
/ ! .F  ;
/.
7 The coefficients of the characteristic polynomial

c .X/ D X n C c1 X n 1
C


C cn ;

of have the following description

^i
ci D . 1/i Tr.j V/
see Bourbaki, N., Algebra, Chapter 3, 8.11.
80 5. A PPLICATIONS OF G ALOIS T HEORY

E XAMPLE 5.43 (a) Consider the field
extension C  R. For D a C bi, the matrix of L
with respect to the basis f1; i g is ab ab , and so

TrC=R ./ D 2<./, NmC=R ./ D jj2 :

(b) For a 2 F , aL is multiplication by the scalar a. Therefore

TrE=F .a/ D na , NmE=F .a/ D an , ca;E=F .X / D .X a/n

where n D EW F :

Let E D Q; i be the splitting field of X 8 2. Then E has degree 16 over Q, and so to

compute the trace and norm an element of E, the definition requires us to compute the trace
and norm of a 16  16 matrix. The next proposition gives us a quicker method.

P ROPOSITION 5.44 Let E=F be a finite extension of fields, and let f .X / be the minimum
polynomial of 2 E. Then

c;E=F .X / D f .X /E WF :

P ROOF. Suppose first that E D F . In this case, we have to show that c .X / D f .X /.

Note that 7! L is an injective homomorphism from E into the ring of endomorphisms
of E as a vector space over F . The Cayley-Hamilton theorem shows that c .L / D 0, and
therefore c ./ D 0. Hence f jc , but they are monic of the same degree, and so they are
equal.
For the general case, let 1 ; :::; n be a basis for F over F , and let 1 ; :::; m be a basis
P F . As we saw in the proof of (1.20), fi k g is a basis for E over F . Write
for E over
i D aj i j . Then, according Pto the first case proved, A Ddef .aij / has characteristic
polynomial f .X /. But i k D aj i j k , and so the matrix of L with respect to fi k g
breaks up into n  n blocks with As down the diagonal and zero matrices elsewhere, from
which it follows that cL .X / D cA .X /m D f .X /m : 2

C OROLLARY 5.45 Suppose that the roots of the minimum polynomial of are 1 ; : : : ; n
(in some splitting field containing E), and that EW F D m. Then

m
Tr./ D m niD1 i ;
P Qn
NmE=F D i D1 i :

P ROOF. Write the minimum polynomial of as

f .X / D X n C a1 X n 1 Q
C


C an D .X i /;

so that
P
a1 D i , and
an D . 1/n i .
Q

Then
c .X / D .f .X //m D X mn C ma1 X mn 1
C


C anm ;
so that
P
TrE=F ./ D ma1 D m i , and
NmE=F ./ D . 1/mn anm D . i /m .
Q
2
 Norms and traces 81

E XAMPLE 5.46 (a) Consider the extension C  R. If 2 C n R, then

c .X / D f .X / D X 2 2<./X C jj2 :

If 2 R, then c .X / D .X a/2 .
(b) Let
p E be the splitting
p field of X 8 2. Then E has degree 16 over Q and is generated
8
by D 2 and i D 1 (see Exercise 16). The minimum polynomial of is X 8 2, and
so
c;Q=Q .X / D X 8 2; c;E=Q .X / D .X 8 2/2
TrQ=Q D 0; TrE=Q D 0
NmQ=Q D 2; NmE=Q D 4
R EMARK 5.47 Let E be a separable extension of F , and let be the set of F -homomorphisms
of E into an algebraic closure of F . Then
P
TrE=F D  2 
Q
NmE=F D 2  :

When E D F , this follows from 5.45 and the observation (cf. 2.1b) that the  are
the roots of the minimum polynomial f .X / of over F . In the general case, the  are
still roots of f .X / in , but now each root of f .X / occurs EW F times (because each
F -homomorphism F ! has EW F extensions to E). For example, if E is Galois
over F with Galois group G, then
P
TrE=F D  2G 
Q
NmE=F D  2G  :

P ROPOSITION 5.48 For finite extensions E  M  F , we have

TrM=F TrE=M D TrE=F ;

NmM=F NmE=M D NmE=F :

P ROOF. If E is separable over F , then this can be proved fairly easily using the descriptions
in the above remark. We omit the proof in the general case. 2

P ROPOSITION 5.49 Let f .X / be a monic irreducible polynomial with coefficients in F ,

and let be a root of f in some splitting field of f . Then

disc f .X / D . 1/m.m 1/=2

NmF =F f 0 ./
df
where f 0 is the formal derivative dX of f .
Qm
P ROOF. Let f .X / D i D1 .X i / be the factorization of f in the given splitting field,
and number the roots so that D 1 . Compute that
def
Y
disc f .X / D .i j /2
i <j
Y Y
D . 1/m.m 1/=2

. .i j //
i j i
Y
m.m 1/=2
D . 1/
f 0 .i /
i
m.m 1/=2
D . 1/ NmF =F .f 0 .// (by 5.47): 2
82 5. A PPLICATIONS OF G ALOIS T HEORY

E XAMPLE 5.50 We compute the discriminant of

f .X / D X n C aX C b; a; b 2 F;

assumed to be irreducible and separable, by computing the norm of

def
D f 0 ./ D n n 1
C a; f ./ D 0.

On multiplying the equation

n C a C b D 0
by n 1 and rearranging, we obtain the equation

n n 1
D na nb 1
:

Hence
D n n 1
C a D .n 1/a nb 1
:
Solving for gives
nb
D :
C .n 1/a
From the last two equations, it is clear that F D F , and so the minimum polynomial
of over F has degree n also. If we write
 
nb P .X /
f D
X C .n 1/a Q.X /
P .X / D .X C .n 1/a/n na.X C .n 1/a/n 1
C . 1/n nn b n 1

Q.X / D .X C .n 1/a/n =b;

then
P . / D f ./
Q. / D 0:
As
. C .n 1/a/n . nb/n
Q. / D D 0
b nb
and P .X / is monic of degree n, it must be the minimum polynomial of . Therefore Nm
is . 1/n times the constant term of P .X /, namely,

Nm D nn b n 1
C . 1/n 1
.n 1/n 1 n
a :

Therefore,

disc.X n C aX C b/ D . 1/n.n 1/=2

.nn b n 1
C . 1/n 1
.n 1/n 1 n
a /;

which is something PARI doesnt know (because it doesnt understand symbols as exponents).
For example,
disc.X 5 C aX C b/ D 55 b 4 C 44 a5 :
 Exercises 83

Exercises
5-1 For a 2 Q, let Ga be the Galois group of X 4 C X 3 C X 2 C X C a. Find integers
a1 ; a2 ; a3 ; a4 such that i j H) Gai is not isomorphic to Gaj .

5-2 Prove that the rational solutions a; b 2 Q of Pythagorass equation a2 C b 2 D 1 are of

the form
s2 t 2 2st
aD 2 2
; bD 2 ; s; t 2 Q;
s Ct s C t2
and deduce that every right triangle with integer sides has sides of length

d.m2 n2 ; 2mn; m2 C n2 /

for some integers d , m, and n (Hint: Apply Hilberts Theorem 90 to the extension Qi =Q.)

5-3 Prove that a finite extension of Q can contain only finitely many roots of 1.
 C HAPTER 6
Algebraic Closures

In this chapter, we use Zorns lemma to show that every field F has an algebraic closure .
Recall that if F is a subfield C, then the algebraic closure of F in C is an algebraic closure
of F (1.46). If F is countable, then the existence of can be proved as in the finite field
case (4.24), namely, the set of monic irreducible polynomials in F X is countable, and so
we can list them f1 ; fS2 ; : : :; define Ei inductively by, E0 D F , Ei D a splitting field of fi
over Ei 1 ; then D Ei is an algebraic closure of F .
The difficulty in showing the existence of an algebraic closure of an arbitrary field F is
in the set theory. Roughly speaking, we would like to take a union of a family of splitting
fields indexed by the monic irreducible polynomials in F X , but we need to find a way
of doing this that is allowed by the axioms of set theory. After reviewing the statement of
Zorns lemma, we sketch three solutions1 to the problem.

Zorns lemma
D EFINITION 6.1 (a) A relation  on a set S is a partial ordering if it reflexive, transitive,
and anti-symmetric (a  b and b  a H) a D b).
(b) A partial ordering is a total ordering if, for all s; t 2 T , either s  t or t  s.
(c) An upper bound for a subset T of a partially ordered set .S; / is an element s 2 S
such that t  s for all t 2 T .
(d) A maximal element of a partially ordered set S is an element s such that s  s 0 H)
s D s0.
A partially ordered set need not have any maximal elements, for example, the set of finite
subsets of an infinite set is partially ordered by inclusion, but it has no maximal elements.

L EMMA 6.2 (Z ORN ) Let .S; / be a nonempty partially ordered set for which every totally
ordered subset has an upper bound in S . Then S has a maximal element.
Zorns lemma2 is equivalent to the Axiom of Choice, and hence independent of the
axioms of set theory.
1 There do exist naturally occurring uncountable fields not contained in C. For example, the field of formal
Laurent series F ..T // over a field F is uncountable even if F is finite.
2 The following is quoted from A.J. Berrick and M.E. Keating, An Introduction to Rings and Modules,

2000: The name of the statement, although widely used (allegedly first by Lefschetz), has attracted the attention
of historians (Campbell 1978). As a maximum principle, it was first brought to prominence, and used for
algebraic purposes in Zorn 1935, apparently in ignorance of its previous usage in topology, most notably in
Kuratowski 1922. Zorn attributed to Artin the realization that the lemma is in fact equivalent to the Axiom of

85
86 6. A LGEBRAIC C LOSURES

R EMARK 6.3 The set S of finite subsets of an infinite set doesnt contradict Zorns lemma,
because it contains totally ordered subsets with no upper bound in S .

The following proposition is a typical application of Zorns lemma we shall use a * to

signal results that depend on Zorns lemma (equivalently, the Axiom of Choice).

P ROPOSITION 6.4 (*) Every nonzero commutative ring A has a maximal ideal (meaning,
maximal among proper ideals).

P ROOF. Let S be the set of all proper S

ideals in A, partially ordered by inclusion. If T is a
totally ordered set of ideals, then J D I 2T I is again an ideal, and it is proper because if
1 2 J then 1 2 I for some I in T , and I would not be proper. Thus J is an upper bound for
T . Now Zorns lemma implies that S has a maximal element, which is a maximal ideal in
A. 2

First proof of the existence of algebraic closures

(Bourbaki, Algebre, Chap. V, 4.) An F -algebra is a ring N containing F as a subring. Let
.Ai /i 2I be a family of commutative
Q F -algebras, and define F Ai to be the quotient of the
F -vector space with basis i 2I Ai by the subspace generated by elements of the form:
.xi / C .yi / .zi / with xj C yj D zj for one j 2 I and xi D yi D zi for all i j ;
.xi / a.yi / with xj D ayj for one j 2 I and xi D yi for all i j ,
(ibid., Chap. II, 3.9). It can be made into a commutative
N F -algebra in an obvious fashion,
and there are canonical homomorphisms Ai ! F Ai of F -algebras. N
For each polynomial f 2 F XN , choose a splitting field Ef , and let D . F Ef /=M
where M is a maximal
N ideal in F Ef (whose existence is ensured by Zorns lemma).
Note that F  F Ef and M \ F D 0. As has no ideals otherNthan .0/ and , it is
a field (see 1.2). The composite of the F -homomorphisms Ef ! F Ef ! , being a
homomorphism of fields, is injective. Since f splits in Ef , it must also split in the larger
field . The algebraic closure of F in is therefore an algebraic closure of F (by 1.44).
N
A SIDE 6.5 In fact, it suffices to take D . F Ef /=M where f runs over the monic irreducible
polynomials in F X and Ef is the stem field F X =.f / of f (apply the statement in 6.7 below).

Second proof of the existence of algebraic closures

(Jacobson 1964, p144.) After (4.24) we may assume F to be infinite. This implies that the
cardinality of every field algebraic over F is the same as that of F (ibid. p143). Choose
an uncountable set  of cardinality greater than that of F , and identify F with a subset of
. Let S be the set of triples .E; C;
/ with E   and .C;
/ a field structure on E such
that .E; C;
/ contains F as a subfield and is algebraic over it. Write .E; C;
/  .E 0 ; C0 ;
0 /
if the first is a subfield of the second. Apply Zorns lemma to show that S has maximal
elements, and then show that a maximal element is algebraically closed. (See ibid. p144 for
the details.)
Choice (see Jech 1973). Zorns contribution was to observe that it is more suited to algebraic applications like
ours.
 Third proof of the existence of algebraic closures 87

Third proof of the existence of algebraic closures

(Emil Artin.) Consider the polynomial ring F : : : ; xf ; : : : in a family of symbols xf indexed
by the nonconstant monic polynomials f 2 F X . If 1 lies in the ideal I of F : : : ; xf ; : : :
generated by the polynomials f .xf /, then
g1 f1 .xf1 / C


C gn fn .xfn / D 1 .in F : : : ; xf ; : : :/
for some gi 2 F : : : ; xf ; : : : and some nonconstant monic fi 2 F X . Let E be an extension
of F such that each fi , i D 1; : : : ; n, has a root i in E. Under the F -homomorphism
F : : : ; xf ; : : : ! E sending

xfi 7! i
xf 7! 0; f ff1 ; : : : ; fn g
the above relation becomes 0 D 1. From this contradiction, we deduce that 1 does not lie in
I , and so Proposition 6.4 applied to F : : : ; xf ; : : :=I shows that I is contained in a maximal
ideal M of F : : : ; xf ; : : :. Let D F : : : ; xf ; : : :=M . Then is a field containing (a copy
of) F in which every nonconstant polynomial in F X has at least one root. Repeat the
process starting with E1 instead of F to obtain a field E2 . Continue in this fashion to obtain
a sequence of fields
F D E0  E1  E2 


;
S
and let E D i Ei . Then E is algebraically closed because the coefficients of any noncon-
stant polynomial g in EX lie in Ei for some i , and so g has a root in Ei C1 . Therefore, the
algebraic closure of F in E is an algebraic closure of F (1.46).
A SIDE 6.6 In fact, E is algebraic over F . To see this, note that E1 is generated by algebraic elements
over F , and so is algebraic over F (apply 1.45). Similarly, E2 is algebraic over E1 , and hence over F
(apply 1.31b). Continuing in this fashion, we find that every element of every Ei is algebraic over F .
A SIDE 6.7 In fact, E1 is already algebraically closed (hence the algebraic closure of F ). This
follows from the statement:
Let be a field. If is algebraic over a subfield F and every nonconstant polynomial
in F X has a root in , then is algebraically closed.
In order to prove this, it suffices to show that every irreducible polynomial f in F X splits in X
(see 1.44). Suppose first that f is separable, and let E be a splitting field for f . According to
Theorem 5.1, E D F for some 2 E. Let g.X / be the minimum polynomial of over F . Then
g.X / has coefficients in F , and so it has a root in . Both of F and F are stem fields for g,
and so there is an F -isomorphism F ! F  . As f splits over F , it must split over .
This completes the proof when F is perfect. Otherwise, F has characteristic p 0, and we
m
let F 0 be the set of elements x of such that x p 2 F for some m. It is easy to see that F 0 is a
field, and we shall complete the proof of the lemma by showing that (a) F 0 is perfect, and (b) every
polynomial in F 0 X has a root in .
def m mC1
P ROOF OF (a). Let a 2 F 0 , so that b D ap 2 F for some m. The polynomial X p b has
0 p mC1 m
coefficients in F , and so it has a root 2 , which automatically lies in F . Now D ap ,
which implies that p D a, because the pth power map is injective on fields of characteristic p.
Before continuing, we note that, because is algebraic over a perfect field F 0 , it is itself perfect:
let a 2 , and let g be the minimum polynomial of a over F 0 ; if X p a is irreducible in X , then
g.X p / is irreducible in F 0 X , but it is not separable,Pwhich is a contradiction.
P ROOF OF (b). Let f .X / 2 F 0 X , say, f .X / D i ai X i , ai 2 F 0 . For some m, the polynomial
P pm i
i ai X has coefficients in F , and therefore has a root 2 . As is perfect, we can write
m
D p with 2 . Now
m
X p m X m
.f .//p D ai i D aip i D 0;
i i
88 6. A LGEBRAIC C LOSURES

and so is a root of f .

(Non)uniqueness of algebraic closures

T HEOREM 6.8 (*) Let be an algebraic closure of F , and let E be an algebraic extension
of F . There exists an F -homomorphism E ! , and, if E is also an algebraic closure of
F , then every such homomorphism is an isomorphism.

P ROOF. Suppose first that E is countably generated over F , i.e., E D F 1 ; :::; n ; : : :.

Then we can extend the inclusion map F ! to F 1 (map 1 to any root of its minimum
polynomial in /, then to F 1 ; 2 ; and so on (see 2.2).
In the uncountable case, we use Zorns lemma. Let S be the set of pairs .M; 'M / with
M a field F  M  E and 'M an F -homomorphism M ! . Write .M; 'M /  .N; 'N /
if M  N and 'N jM D 'M . This makes S S into a partially ordered set. Let T be a
totally ordered subset of S . Then M 0 D M 2T M is a subfield of E, and we can define a
homomorphism ' 0 W M 0 ! by requiring that ' 0 .x/ D 'M .x/ if x 2 M . The pair .M 0 ; ' 0 /
is an upper bound for T in S. Hence Zorns lemma gives us a maximal element .M; '/ in
S. Suppose that M E. Then there exists an element 2 E, M . Since is algebraic
over M , we can apply (2.2) to extend ' to M , contradicting the maximality of M . Hence
M D E, and the proof of the first statement is complete.
If E is algebraically closed, then every polynomial f 2 F X splits in EX and hence
in '.E/X . Let 2 , and let f .X / be the minimum polynomial of . Then X is
a factor of f .X / in X , but, as we just observed, f .X / splits in '.E/X . Because of
unique factorization, this implies that 2 '.E/. 2

The above proof is a typical application of Zorns lemma: once we know how to do
something in a finite (or countable) situation, Zorns lemma allows us to do it in general.

R EMARK 6.9 Even for a finite field F , there will exist uncountably many isomorphisms
from one algebraic closure to a second, none of which is to be preferred over any other. Thus
it is (uncountably) sloppy to say that the algebraic closure of F is unique. All one can say is
that, given two algebraic closures , 0 of F , then, thanks to Zorns lemma, there exists an
F -isomorphism ! 0 .

Separable closures
Let be a field containing F , and let E be a set of intermediate fields F  E  with the
following property:
(*) for all E1 ; E2 2 E, there exists an E 2 E such that E1 ; E2  E.
S S
Then E.E/ D E 2E E is a subfield of (and we call E 2E E a directed union), because
(*) implies that every finite set of elements of E.E/ is contained in a common E 2 E, and
therefore their product, sum, etc., also lie in E.E/.
We apply this remark to the set of subfields E of that are finite and separable over F .
As the composite of any two such subfields is again finite and separable over F (cf. 3.14),
we see that the union L of all such E is a subfield of . We call L the separable closure of
F in clearly, it is separable over F and every element of separable over F lies in L.
Moreover, because a separable extension of a separable extension is separable, is purely
inseparable over L.
 Separable closures 89

D EFINITION 6.10 (a) A field is said to be separably closed if every nonconstant separa-
ble polynomial in X splits in .
(b) A field is said to be a separable closure of a subfield F if it is separable and
algebraic over F and it is separably closed.

T HEOREM 6.11 (*) (a) Every field has a separable closure.

(b) Let E be a separable algebraic extension of F , and let be a separable algebraic
closure of F . There exists an F -homomorphism E ! , and, if E is also a separable
closure of F , then every such homomorphism is an isomorphism.

P ROOF. Replace polynomial with separable polynomial in the proofs of the correspond-
ing theorems for algebraic closures. Alternatively, define to be the separable closure of F
in an algebraic closure, and apply the preceding theorems. 2

A SIDE 6.12 It is not necessary to assume the full axiom of choice to prove the existence of algebraic
closures and their uniqueness up to isomorphism, but only a weaker axiom. See Banaschewski,
Bernhard. Algebraic closure without choice. Z. Math. Logik Grundlag. Math. 38 (1992), no. 4,
383385.
 C HAPTER 7
Infinite Galois Extensions

In this chapter, we make free use of the axiom of choice.1

Topological groups
D EFINITION 7.1 A set G together with a group structure and a topology is a topological
group if the maps

.g; h/ 7! ghW G  G ! G;
1
g 7! g WG ! G

are both continuous.

g7!ag
Let a be an element of a topological group G. Then aL W G ! G is continuous
because it is the composite of
g7!.a;g/ .g;h/7!gh
G ! G G ! G:

In fact, it is a homeomorphism with inverse .a 1 /L . Similarly aR W g 7! ga and g 7! g 1 are

both homeomorphisms. In particular, for any subgroup H of G, the coset aH of H is open
or closed if H is open or closed. As the complement of H in G is a union of such cosets,
this shows that H is closed if it is open, and it is open if it is closed and of finite index.
Recall that a neighbourhood base for a point x of a topological space X is a set of
neighbourhoods N such that every open subset U of X containing x contains an N from N .

P ROPOSITION 7.2 Let G be a topological group, and let N be a neighbourhood base for
the identity element e of G. Then2
(a) for all N1 ; N2 2 N , there exists an N 0 2 N such that e 2 N 0  N1 \ N2 ;
(b) for all N 2 N , there exists an N 0 2 N such that N 0 N 0  N ;
(c) for all N 2 N , there exists an N 0 2 N such that N 0  N 1;

(d) for all N 2 N and all g 2 G, there exists an N 0 2 N such that N 0  gNg 1I

1 It is necessary to assume the axiom of choice in order to have a sensible Galois theory of infinite extensions.

For example, it is consistent with Zermelo-Fraenkel set theory that there exist an algebraic closure L of the
Q with no nontrivial automorphisms. See: Hodges, Wilfrid, Lauchlis algebraic closure of Q. Math. Proc.
Cambridge Philos. Soc. 79 (1976), no. 2, 289297.
2 For subsets S and S 0 of G, we let SS 0 D fss 0 j s 2 S, s 0 2 S 0 g and S 1 D fs 1 j s 2 S g.

91
92 7. I NFINITE G ALOIS E XTENSIONS

(e) for all g 2 G, fgN j N 2 N g is a neighbourhood base for g.

Conversely, if G is a group and N is a nonempty set of subsets of G satisfying (a,b,c,d), then
there is a (unique) topology on G for which (e) holds.

P ROOF. If N is a neighbourhood base at e in a topological group G, then (b), (c), and

(d) are consequences of the continuity of .g; h/ 7! gh, g 7! g 1 , and h 7! ghg 1 respec-
tively. Moreover, (a) is a consequence of the definitions and (e) of the fact that gL is a
homeomorphism.
Conversely, let N be a nonempty collection of subsets of a group G satisfying the
conditions (a)(d). Note that (a) implies that e lies in all the N in N . Define U to be the
collection of subsets U of G such that, for every g 2 U , there exists an N 2 N with gN  U .
Clearly, the empty set and G are in U, and unions of sets in U are in U. Let U1 ; U2 2 U, and
let g 2 U1 \ U2 ; by definition there exist N1 ; N2 2 N with gN1 ; gN2  U ; on applying (a)
we obtain an N 0 2 N such that gN 0  U1 \ U2 , which shows that U1 \ U2 2 U. It follows
that the elements of U are the open sets of a topology on G. In fact, one sees easily that it is
the unique topology for which (e) holds.
We next use (b) and (d) to show that .g; g 0 / 7! gg 0 is continuous. Note that the sets
g1 N1  g2 N2 form a neighbourhood base for .g1 ; g2 / in G  G. Therefore, given an
open U  G and a pair .g1 ; g2 / such that g1 g2 2 U , we have to find N1 ; N2 2 N such
that g1 N1 g2 N2  U . As U is open, there exists an N 2 N such that g1 g2 N  U . Ap-
ply (b) to obtain an N 0 such that N 0 N 0  N ; then g1 g2 N 0 N 0  U . But g1 g2 N 0 N 0 D
g1 .g2 N 0 g2 1 /g2 N 0 , and it remains to apply (d) to obtain an N1 2 N such that N1 
g2 N 0 g2 1 .
Finally, we use (c) and (d) to show that g 7! g 1 is continuous. Given an open U  G
and a g 2 G such that g 1 2 U , we have to find an N 2 N such that gN  U 1 . By
definition, there exists an N 2 N such that g 1 N  U . Now N 1 g  U 1 , and we use
(c) to obtain an N 0 2 N such that N 0 g  U 1 , and (d) to obtain an N 00 2 N such that
gN 00  g.g 1 N 0 g/  U 1 . 2

The Krull topology on the Galois group

Recall (3.9) that a finite extension of F is Galois over F if it is normal and separable, i.e.,
if every irreducible polynomial f 2 F X having a root in has deg f distinct roots in .
Similarly, we define an algebraic extension of F to be Galois over F if it is normal and
separable. For example, F sep is a Galois extension of F . Clearly, is Galois over F if and
only if it is a union of finite Galois extensions.

P ROPOSITION 7.3 If is Galois over F , then it is Galois over every intermediate field M .

P ROOF. Let f .X / be an irreducible polynomial in M X having a root a in . The

minimum polynomial g.X / of a over F splits into distinct degree-one factors in X . As
f divides g (in M X ), it also must split into distinct degree-one factors in X . 2

P ROPOSITION 7.4 Let be a Galois extension of F and let E be a subfield of containing

F . Then every F -homomorphism E ! extends to an F -isomorphism ! .

P ROOF. The same Zorns lemma argument as in the proof of Theorem 6.8 shows that every
F -homomorphism E ! extends to an F -homomorphism W ! . Let a 2 , and let
f be its minimum polynomial over F . Then contains exactly deg.f / roots of f , and so
therefore does ./. Hence a 2 ./, which shows that is surjective. 2
 The Krull topology on the Galois group 93

C OROLLARY 7.5 Let  E  F be as in the proposition. If E is stable under Aut.=F /,

then E is Galois over F .

P ROOF. Let f .X / be an irreducible polynomial in F X having a root a in E. Because

is Galois over F , f .X / has n D deg.f / distinct roots a1 ; : : : ; an in . There is an
F -isomorphism F a ! F ai  sending a to ai (they are both stem fields for f ), which
extends to an F -isomorphism ! . As E is stable under Aut.=F /, this shows that
ai 2 E. 2

Let be a Galois extension of F , and let G D Aut.=F /. For any finite subset S of
, let
G.S / D f 2 G j  s D s for all s 2 S g:

P ROPOSITION 7.6 There is a unique structure of a topological group on G for which the
sets G.S / form an open neighbourhood base of 1. For this topology, the sets G.S / with S
G-stable form a neighbourhood base of 1 consisting of open normal subgroups.

P ROOF. We show that the collection of sets G.S / satisfies (a,b,c,d) of (7.2). It satisfies (a)
because G.S1 / \ G.S2 / D G.S1 [ S2 /. It satisfies (b) and (c) because each set G.S / is a
group. Let S be a finite subset of . Then F .S / is a finite extension of F , and so there are
only finitely many FS-homomorphisms F .S / ! . Since S D  S if  jF .S / D jF .S /,
this shows that Sx D  2G S is finite. Now  Sx D Sx for all  2 G, and it follows that G.Sx/
is normal in G. Therefore,  G.Sx/ 1 D G.Sx/  G.S /, which proves (d). It also proves
the second statement. 2

The topology on Aut.=F / defined in the proposition is called the Krull topology. We
write Gal.=F / for Aut.=F / endowed with the Krull topology, and call it the Galois
group of =F . The Galois group of F sep over F is called the absolute Galois group3 of F .
If S is a finite set stable under G, then F .S / is a finite extension of F stable under G,
and hence Galois over F (7.5). Therefore,

fGal.=E/ j E finite and Galois over F g

is a neighbourhood base of 1 consisting of open normal subgroups.

P ROPOSITION 7.7 Let be Galois over F . For every intermediate field E finite and Galois
over F , the map
 7! jEW Gal.=F / ! Gal.E=F /
is a continuous surjection (discrete topology on Gal.E=F /).

P ROOF. Let  2 Gal.E=F /, and regard it as an F -homomorphism E ! . Then  extends

to an F -isomorphism ! (see 7.4), which shows that the map is surjective. For every
finite set S of generators of E over F , Gal.=E/ D G.S /, which shows that the inverse
image of 1Gal.E=F / is open in G. By homogeneity, the same is true for every element of
Gal.E=F /. 2
3 But note that the absolute Galois group of F is only defined up to an inner automorphism: let F 0 be a
second separable algebraic closure of F ; the choice of an isomorphism F 0 ! F sep determines an isomorphism
Gal.F 0 =F / ! Gal.F sep =F /; a second isomorphism F 0 ! F sep will differ from the first by an element  of
Gal.F sep =F /, and the isomorphism Gal.F 0 =F / ! Gal.F sep =F / it defines differs from the first by inn./.
94 7. I NFINITE G ALOIS E XTENSIONS

P ROPOSITION 7.8 The Galois group G of a Galois extension =F is compact and totally
disconnected.4

P ROOF. We first show that G is Hausdorff. If  , then  1  1G , and so it moves

some element of , i.e., there exists an a 2 such that  .a/  .a/. For any S containing
a, G.S / and  G.S / are disjoint because their elements act differently on a. Hence they
are disjoint open subsets of G containing  and  respectively.
We next show that G is compact. As we noted above, if S is a finite set stable under G,
then G.S / is a normal subgroup of G, and it has finite index because it is the kernel of

G ! Sym.S /:

Since every finite set is contained in a stable finite set,5 the argument in the last paragraph
shows that the map Y
G! G=G.S /
S finite stable under G
Q
is injective. When we endow G=G.S / with the product topology, the induced topology
on G is that for which the G.S / form an open neighbourhood Q base of e, i.e., it is the
Krull topology. According to the Tychonoff theorem, G=G.S / is compact, and so it
remainsQto show that G is closed in the product. For each S1  S2 , there are two continuous
maps G=G.S / ! G=G.S1 /, namely, the projection onto G=G.S1 / and the projection
onto G=G.S2 / followed Q by the quotient map G=G.S2 / ! G=G.S1T /. Let E.S1 ; S2 / be
the closed subset of G=G.S / on which the two maps agree. Then S1 S2 E.S1 ; S2 / is
closed, and equals the image of G.
Finally, forTeach finite set S stable under G, G.S / is a subgroup that is open and hence
closed. Since G.S / D f1G g, this shows that the connected component of G containing
1G is just f1G g. By homogeneity, a similar statement is true for every element of G. 2

P ROPOSITION 7.9 For every Galois extension =F , Gal.=F / D F .

P ROOF. Every element of X F lies in a finite Galois extension of F , and so this follows
from the surjectivity in Proposition 7.7. 2

A SIDE 7.10 There is a converse to Proposition 7.8: every compact totally disconnected group
arises as the Galois group of some Galois extension of fields of characteristic zero (Douady, A.,
Cohomologie des groupes compact totalement discontinus (dapres J. Tate), Seminaire Bourbaki
1959/60, no. 189). However, not all such groups arise as the absolute Galois group of a field of
characteristic zero. For example, the absolute Galois group of a field of characteristic zero, if finite,
must have order 1 or 2.6

The fundamental theorem of infinite Galois theory

P ROPOSITION 7.11 Let be Galois over F , with Galois group G.
(a) Let M be a subfield of containing F . Then is Galois over M , the Galois group
Gal.=M / is closed in G, and Gal.=M / D M .
4 Following Bourbaki, we require compact spaces to be Hausdorff. A topological space is totally discon-

nected if its connected components are the one-point sets.

5 Each element of is algebraic over F , and its orbit is the set of its conjugates (roots of its minimum

polynomial over F ).
6 Theorem (Artin-Schreier, 1927): Let E be an algebraically closed field and let F be a proper subfield of E
p
with EW F < 1. Then F is real-closed and E D F 1. See, for example, Jacobson 1964, Chapter VI.
 The fundamental theorem of infinite Galois theory 95

(b) For every subgroup H of G, Gal.= H / is the closure of H .

P ROOF. (a) The first assertion was proved in (7.3). For each finite subset
T S  M , G.S / is
an open subgroup of G, and hence it is closed. But Gal.=M / D S M G.S /, and so it
also is closed. The final statement now follows from (7.9).
x of
(b) Since Gal.= H / contains H and is closed, it certainly contains the closure H
x
H . On the other hand, let  2 G X H ; we have to show that  moves some element of H .
Because  is not in the closure of H ,

 Gal.=E/ \ H D ;

for some finite Galois extension E of F in (because the sets Gal.=E/ form a neigh-
bourhood base of 1; see above). Let  denote the surjective map Gal.=F / ! Gal.E=F /.
Then jE H , and so  moves some element of E H  H (apply 3.11b). 2

T HEOREM 7.12 Let be Galois over F with Galois group G. The maps

H 7! H ; M 7! Gal.=M /

are inverse bijections between the set of closed subgroups of G and the set of intermediate
fields between and F :

fclosed subgroups of Gg $ fintermediate fields F  M  g:

Moreover,
(a) the correspondence is inclusion-reversing: H1  H2 H1  H2 ;
(b) a closed subgroup H of G is open if and only if H has finite degree over F , in
which case .GW H / D H W F ;
1 1
(c) H $ M , i.e., H D  . H /; Gal.=M / D  Gal.=M / 1;

(d) a closed subgroup H of G is normal if and only if H is Galois over F , in which

case Gal. H =F / ' G=H .

P ROOF. For the first statement, we have to show that H 7! H and M 7! Gal.=M / are
inverse maps.
Let H be a closed subgroup of G. Then is Galois over H and Gal.= H / D H
(see 7.11).
Let M be an intermediate field. Then Gal.=M / is a closed subgroup of G and
Gal.=M / D M (see 7.11).
(a) We have the obvious implications:

H1  H2 H) H1  H2 H) Gal.= H1 /  Gal.= H2 /:

But Gal.= Hi / D Hi (see 7.11).

(b) As we noted earlier, a closed subgroup of finite index in a topological group is always
open. Because G is compact, conversely an open subgroup of G is always of finite index.
Let H be such a subgroup. The map  7!  j H defines a bijection

G=H ! HomF . H ; /

(apply 7.4) from which the statement follows.

96 7. I NFINITE G ALOIS E XTENSIONS

(c) For  2 G and 2 ,  D    1 . / D  . Therefore, Gal.=M / D

 Gal.=M / 1 , and so  Gal.=M / 1 $ M:
(d) Let H $ M . It follows from (c) that H is normal if and only if M is stable under
the action of G. But M is stable under the action of G if and only it is a union of finite
extensions of F stable under G, i.e., of finite Galois extensions of G. We have already
observed that an extension is Galois if and only if it is a union of finite Galois extensions.2

R EMARK 7.13 As in the finite case (3.17), we can deduce the following statements.
T and let Hi $ Mi .
Q Let .Mi /i 2I be a (possibly infinite) family of intermediate fields,
(a)
Let Mi be the smallest field containing all the Mi ; then because i2I Hi is the largest
(closed) subgroup contained in all the Hi ,
Q \
Gal.= Mi / D Hi :
i 2I

T (b) Let1 M $ H . The largest (closed)

N
normal subgroup contained in H is N D
 H (cf. GT 4.10), and so , which is the composite of the fields M , is the
smallest normal extension of F containing M .

EL
P ROPOSITION 7.14 Let E and L be field extensions of F con- D
tained in some common field. If E=F is Galois, then EL=L and
E=E \ L are Galois, and the map E L
D
 7!  jEW Gal.EL=L/ ! Gal.E=E \ L/ E \L
is an isomorphism of topological groups.
F

P ROOF. We first prove that the map is continuous. Let G1 D Gal.EL=L/ and let G2 D
Gal.E=E \ L/. For any finite set S of elements of E, the inverse image of G2 .S / in G1 is
G1 .S/.
We next show that the map is an isomorphism of groups (neglecting the topology). As
in the finite case, it is an injective homomorphism (3.18). Let H be the image of the map.
Then the fixed field of H is E \ L, which implies that H is dense in Gal.E=E \ L/. But H
is closed because it is the continuous image of a compact space in a Hausdorff space, and so
H D Gal.E=E \ L/.
Finally, we prove that it is open. An open subgroup of Gal.EL=L/ is closed (hence
compact) of finite index; therefore its image in Gal.E=E \ L/ is compact (hence closed) of
finite index, and hence open. 2

C OROLLARY 7.15 Let be an algebraically closed field containing F , and let E and L
be as in the proposition. If W E ! and W L ! are F -homomorphisms such that
jE \ L D  jE \ L, then there exists an F -homomorphism  W EL ! such that  jE D 
and jL D .

P ROOF. According to (7.4),  extends to an F -homomorphism sW EL ! . As sjE \ L D

jE \L, we can write sjE D  " for some " 2 Gal.E=E \L/. According to the proposition,
there exists a unique e 2 Gal.EL=L/ such that ejE D ". Define  D s e 1 . 2
 Galois groups as inverse limits 97

E XAMPLE 7.16 Let be an algebraic closure of the finite field Fp . Then G D Gal.=Fp /
contains a canonical Frobenius element,  D .a 7! ap /, and it is generated by it as a
topological group, i.e., G is the closure of hi. We now determine the structure of G.
Endow Z with the topology for which the groups nZ, n  1, form a fundamental system
of neighbourhoods of 0. Thus two integers are close if their difference is divisible by a large
integer.
As for any topological group, we can complete Z for this topology. A Cauchy sequence
in Z is a sequence .ai /i 1 , ai 2 Z, satisfying the following condition: for all n  1, there
exists an N such that ai  aj mod n for i; j > N . Call a Cauchy sequence in Z trivial if
ai ! 0 as i ! 1, i.e., if for all n  1, there exists an N such that ai  0 mod n for all
i > N . The Cauchy sequences form a commutative group, and the trivial Cauchy sequences
form a subgroup. We define Z y to be the quotient of the first group by the second. It has a
ring structure, and the map sending m 2 Z to the constant sequence m; m; m; : : : identifies Z
with a subgroup of Z. y
y
Let 2 Z be represented by the Cauchy sequence .ai /. The restriction of the Frobenius
element  to Fpn has order n. Therefore . jFpn /ai is independent of i provided it is
sufficiently large, and we can define  2 Gal.=Fp / to be such that, for each n,  jFpn D
.jFpn /ai for all i sufficiently large (depending on n). The map 7!  W Zy ! Gal.=Fp /
is an isomorphism.
The group Z y is uncountable. To most analysts, it is a little weirdits connected
components are one-point sets. To number theorists it Q will seem quite natural the
Chinese remainder theorem implies that it is isomorphic to p prime Zp where Zp is the ring
of p-adic integers.

E XAMPLE 7.17 Let Qal be the algebraic closure of Q in C. Then Gal.Qal =Q/ is one of the
most basic, and intractable, objects in mathematics. It is expected that every finite group
occurs as a quotient of it. This is known, for example, for Sn and for every sporadic simple
group except possibly M23 . See (5.41) and mo80359.
On the other hand, we do understand Gal.F ab =F / where F  Qal is a finite extension
of Q and F ab is the union of all finite abelian extensions of F contained in Qal . For example,
Gal.Qab =Q/ ' Z y  . This is abelian class field theory see my notes Class Field Theory.

A SIDE 7.18 A simple Galois correspondence is a system consisting of two partially ordered sets
P and Q and order reversing maps f W P ! Q and gW Q ! P such that gf .p/  p for all p 2 P
and fg.q/  q for all q 2 Q. Then fgf D f , because fg.fp/  fp and gf .p/  p implies
f .gfp/  f .p/ for all p 2 P . Similarly, gfg D g, and it follows that f and g define a one-to-one
correspondence between the sets g.Q/ and f .P /.
From a Galois extension of F we get a simple Galois correspondence by taking P to be the
set of subgroups of Gal.=F / and Q to be the set of subsets of , and by setting f .H / D H and
g.S / D G.S /. Thus, to prove the one-to-one correspondence in the fundamental theorem, it suffices
to identify the closed subgroups as exactly those in the image of g and the intermediate fields as
exactly those in the image of f . This is accomplished by (7.11).

Galois groups as inverse limits

D EFINITION 7.19 A partial ordering  on a set I is said to be directed, and the pair .I; /
is called a directed set, if for all i; j 2 I there exists a k 2 I such that i; j  k.

D EFINITION 7.20 Let .I; / be a directed set, and let C be a category (for example, the cat-
egory of groups and homomorphisms, or the category of topological groups and continuous
homomorphisms).
98 7. I NFINITE G ALOIS E XTENSIONS

(a) An inverse system in C indexed by .I; / is a family .Ai /i 2I of objects of C together

j j
with a family .pi W Aj ! Ai /i j of morphisms such that pii D idAi and pi pjk D pik
all i  j  k.
(b) An object A of C together with a family .pj W A ! Aj /j 2I of morphisms satisfying
j
pi pj D pi all i  j is said to be an inverse limit of the system in (a) if it has the
following universal property: for any other object B and family .qj W B ! Aj / of
j
morphisms such pi qj D qi all i  j , there exists a unique morphism rW B ! A
such that pj r D qj for j ,
r
B A
qj pj

qi pi Aj
j
pi

Ai

Clearly, the inverse limit (if it exists), is uniquely determined by this condition up to a unique
j
isomorphism. We denote it lim.Ai ; pi /, or just lim Ai .
j
E XAMPLE 7.21 Let .Gi ; pi W Gj ! Gi / be an inverse system of groups. Let
j
Y
G D f.gi / 2 Gi j pi .gj / D gi all i  j g;
j j
and let pi W G ! Gi be the projection map. Then pi pj D pi is just the equation pi .gj / D
j
gi . Let .H; qi / be a second family such that pi qj D qi . The image of the homomorphism
Y
h 7! .qi .h//W H ! Gi
is contained in G, and this is the unique homomorphism H ! G carrying qi to pi . Hence
j
.G; pi / D lim.Gi ; pi /.
j
E XAMPLE 7.22 Let .Gi ; pi W Gj ! Gi / be an inverse system of topological
Q groups and
continuous homomorphisms. When endowed with the product topology, Gi becomes a
topological group
j
Y
G D f.gi / 2 Gi j pi .gj / D gi all i  j g;
and G becomes a topological subgroup with the subspace topology. The projection maps
j
pi are continuous. Let H be .H; qi / be a second family such that pi qj D qi . The
homomorphism Y
h 7! .qi .h//W H ! Gi
is continuous because its composites with projection maps are continuous (universal property
j
of the product). Therefore H ! G is continuous, and this shows that .G; pi / D lim.Gi ; pi /.
j
E XAMPLE 7.23 Let .Gi ; pi W Gj ! Gi / be an inverse system of finite groups, and regard
it as an inverse system of topological groups by giving each Gi the discrete topology. A
topological group G arising as an inverse limit of such a system is said to be profinite7 :
7 An inverse limit is also called a projective limit. Thus a profinite group is a projective limit of finite groups.
 Nonopen subgroups of finite index 99

j
If .xi / G, say pi00 .xj0 / xi0 , then

G \ f.gj / j gj0 D xj0 ; gi0 D xi0 g D ;.

Q
As the second set is anQopen neighbourhood of .xi /, this shows that G is closed in Gi . By
Tychonoffs theorem, Gi is compact, and so G is also compact. The map pi W G ! Gi is
continuous,
T and its kernel Ui is an open subgroup of finite index in G (hence also closed).
As Ui D feg, the connected component of G containing e is just feg. By homogeneity,
the same is true for every point of G: the connected components of G are the one-point sets
G is totally disconnected.
We have shown that a profinite group is compact and totally disconnected, and it is an
exercise to prove the converse.8
E XAMPLE 7.24 Let be a Galois extension of F . The composite of two finite Galois
extensions of in is again a finite Galois extension, and so the finite Galois subextensions
of form a directed set I . For each E in I we have a finite group Gal.E=F /, and for each
E0
E  E 0 we have a restriction homomorphism pE W Gal.E 0 =F / ! Gal.E=F /. In this way,
E0
we get an inverse system of finite groups .Gal.E=F /; pE / indexed by I .
For each E, there is a restriction homomorphism pE W Gal.=F / ! Gal.E=F / and,
because of the universal property of inverse limits, these maps define a homomorphism

Gal.=F / ! lim Gal.E=F /.

This map is an isomorphism of topological groups. This is a restatement of what we showed

in the proof of (7.8).

Nonopen subgroups of finite index

We apply Zorns lemma9 to construct a nonopen subgroup of finite index in Gal.Qal =Q/.10
L EMMA 7.25 Let V be an infinite dimensional vector space. For all n  1, there exists a
subspace Vn of V such that V =Vn has dimension n.
P ROOF. Zorns lemma shows that V contains maximal linearly independent subsets, and
then the usual argument shows that such a subset spans V , i.e., is a basis. Choose a basis,
and take Vn to be the subspace spanned by the set obtained by omitting n elements from the
basis. 2

P ROPOSITION 7.26 The group Gal.Qal =Q/ has nonopen normal subgroups of index 2n for
all n > 1.
p p p
P ROOF. Let E be the subfield Q 1; 2; : : : ; p; : : :, p prime, of C. For each p,
p p p
Gal.Q 1; 2; : : : ; p=Q/

is a product of copies of Z=2Z indexed by the set fprimes  pg [ f1g (apply 5.31; see also
5.30b). As p p p
Gal.E=Q/ D lim Gal.Q 1; 2; : : : ; p=Q/;
8 More precisely, it is Exercise 3 of 7 of Chapter 3 of Bourbakis General Topology.
9 Thisis really needed see mo106216.
x
10 Contrast: . . . it is not known, even when G D Gal.Q=Q/, whether every subgroup of finite index in
G is open; this is one of a number of related unsolved problems, all of which appear to be very difficult.
Swinnerton-Dyer, H. P. F., A brief guide to algebraic number theory. Cambridge, 2001, p133.
100 7. I NFINITE G ALOIS E XTENSIONS

it is a direct product of copies of Z=2Z indexed by the primes l of Q (including l D 1)

endowed with the product topology. Let G D Gal.E=Q/, and let

H D f.al / 2 G j al D 0 for all but finitely many lg:

This is a subgroup of G (in fact, it is a direct sum of copies of Z=2Z indexed by the primes
of Q), and it is dense in G because11 clearly every open subset of G contains an element of
H . We can regard G=H as vector space over F2 and apply the lemma to obtain subgroups
Gn of index 2n in G containing H . If Gn is open in G, then it is closed, which contradicts
the fact that H is dense. Therefore, Gn is not open, and its inverse image in Gal.Qal =Q/ is
the desired subgroup.12 2

A SIDE 7.27 Let G D Gal.Qal =Q/. We showed in the above proof that there is a closed normal
subgroup N D Gal.Qal =E/ of G such that G=N is an uncountable vector space over F2 . Let .G=N /_
be the dual of this vector space (also uncountable). Every nonzero f 2 .G=N /_ defines a surjective
map G ! F2 whose kernel is a subgroup of index 2 in G. These subgroups are distinct, and so G
has uncountably many subgroups of index 2. Only countably many of them are open because Q has
only countably many quadratic extensions in a fixed algebraic closure.

A SIDE 7.28 Let G be a profinite group that is finitely generated as a topological group. It is a
difficult theorem, only recently proved, that every subgroup of finite index in G is open (Nikolov,
Nikolay; Segal, Dan. On finitely generated profinite groups. I. Strong completeness and uniform
bounds. Ann. of Math. (2) 165 (2007), no. 1, 171238.)

11 Alternatively, let .al / 2 G; then the sequence

.a1 ; 0; 0; 0; : : :/, .a1 ; a2 ; 0; 0; : : :/, .a1 ; a2 ; a3 ; 0; : : :/; : : :

in H converges to .al /.
12 The inverse image is not open because every continuous homomorphism from a compact group to a

separated group is open. Alternatively,

p pif the inverse image were open, its fixed field would be a nontrivial
p
extension E of Q contained in Q 1; 2; : : : ; p; : : :; but then E would be fixed by Gn , which is dense.
 C HAPTER 8
The Galois theory of etale algebras

For Grothendieck, the classification of field extensions by Galois groups, and the classifi-
cation of covering spaces by fundamental groups, are two aspects of the same theory. In
this chapter, we re-interprete classical Galois theory from Grothendiecks point of view. We
assume the reader is familiar with the language of category theory (Wikipedia: Category
theory; Equivalence of categories).
Throughout, F is a field, all rings and F -algebras are commutative, and unadorned tensor
products are over F . An F -algebra A is finite if it is finitely generated as an F -module.

Review of commutative algebra

We shall need the following standard results from commutative algebra.
Two ideals I and J in a ring A are said to be relatively prime if I C J D A. For example,
any two distinct maximal ideals in A are relatively prime.
T HEOREM 8.1 (C HINESE R EMAINDER T HEOREM ) Let I1 ; : : : ; In be ideals in a ring A. If
Ii is relatively prime to Ij whenever i j , then the map
a 7! .: : : ; a C Ii ; : : :/W A ! A=I1 


 A=In (6)
Q Q T
is surjective with kernel Ii (so Ii D Ii ).
P ROOF. CA 2.12. 2

T HEOREM 8.2 (S TRONG N ULLSTELLENSATZ ) Let I be an ideal in the polynomial ring

F X1 ; : : : ; Xn and let Z.I / denote the set of zeros of I in .F al /n . If a polynomial h 2
F X1 ; : : : ; Xn vanishes on Z.I /, then some power of it lies in I .
P ROOF. CA 12.8. 2

The radical of an ideal I in a ring A is the set of f 2 A such that f n 2 I for some
n 2 N. It is again an ideal, and it is equal to its own radical.
The nilradical N of A is the radical of the ideal .0/. It consists of the nilpotents in A. If
N D 0, then A is said to be reduced.
P ROPOSITION 8.3 Let A be a finitely generated F -algebra, and let I be an ideal in A. The
radical of I is equal to the intersection of the maximal ideals containing it:
\
rad.I / D fM j M  I , M maximalg:
T
In particular, A is reduced if and only if fM j M maximalg D 0.

101
102 8. T HE G ALOIS THEORY OF ETALE ALGEBRAS

P ROOF. Because of the correspondence between ideals in a ring and in a quotient of the
ring, it suffices to prove thisTfor A D F X1 ; : : : ; Xn .
The inclusion rad.I /  fM j M  I , M maximalg holds in any ring (because maximal
ideals are radical and rad.I / is the smallest radical ideal containing I ).
For the reverse inclusion, let h lie in all maximal ideals containing I , and let .a1 ; : : : ; an / 2
Z.I /. The image of the evaluation map

f 7! f .a1 ; : : : ; an /W F X1 ; : : : ; Xn ! F al

is a subring of F al which is algebraic over F , and hence is a field (see 1.31a). Therefore,
the kernel of the map is a maximal ideal, which contains I , and therefore also contains h.
This shows that h.a1 ; : : : ; an / D 0, and we conclude from the strong Nullstellensatz that
h 2 rad.I /. 2

Etale algebras over a field

D EFINITION 8.4 An F -algebra A is diagonalizable if it is isomorphic to the product algebra
F n for some n, and it is etale if L A is diagonalizable for some field L containing F .1
The degree AW F of a finite F -algebra A is its dimension as an F -vector space.

Let A be a finite F -algebra. For any finite set SQof maximal ideals in A, the Chinese
remainder
T theorem (8.1) shows that the map A ! M 2S A=M is surjective with kernel
M 2S M . In particular, jS j  AW F , and T
so A has only finitely many maximal ideals. If S
is the set of all maximal ideals in A, then M 2S M is the nilradical N of A (8.3), and so
A=N is a finite product of fields.

P ROPOSITION 8.5 The following conditions on a finite F -algebra A are equivalent:

(a) A is etale;
(b) L A is reduced for all fields L containing F I
(c) A is a product of separable field extensions of F .

P ROOF. (a))(b). Let L be a field containing F . By hypothesis, there exists a field L0

containing F such that L0 A is diagonalizable. Let L00 be a field containing (copies
of) both L and L0 (e.g., take L00 to be a quotient of L L0 by a maximal ideal). Then
L00 A D L00 L0 L0 A is diagonalizable, and the map L A ! L00 A defined by the
inclusion L ! L00 is injective, and so L A is reduced.
(b))(c). The map a 7! 1 aW A ! L A is injective, and so if L A is reduced, then
so also is A. The discussion above shows that it is a finite product of fields. Let F 0 be one of
the factors of A. If F 0 is not separable over F , then F has characteristic p 0 and there
exists an element u of F 0 whose minimum polynomial is of the form f .X p / with f 2 F X
(see 3.6, et seq.). Let L be a field containing F such that all the coefficients of f are pth
powers in L. Then

L F u ' L .F X =.f .X p // ' LX =.f .X p //;

which is not reduced because f .X p / is a pth power in LX . Hence L A is not reduced.

1 This is Bourbakis terminology
 Etale algebras over a field 103

(c))(a). We may suppose that A itself is a separable field extension of F . From the
primitive element theorem (5.1), we know that A D F u for some u. Because F u is
separable over F , the minimum polynomial f .X / of u is separable, which means that
Y
f .X / D .X ui /; ui uj for i j;

in a splitting field L for f . Now

L A ' L F X =.f / ' LX =.f /,

and, according to the Chinese remainder theorem (8.1),

Y
LX =.f / ' LX =.X ui / ' L 


 L.
i 2

C OROLLARY 8.6 An F -algebra A is etale if and only if F sep A is diagonalizable.

P ROOF. The proof that (c) implies (a) in (8.5) shows that L A is diagonalizable if certain
separable polynomials split in L. By definition, all separable polynomials split in F sep . 2

E XAMPLE 8.7 Let f 2 F X , and let A D F X =.f /. Let f D fimi with the fi irre-
Q
ducible and distinct. According to the Chinese remainder theorem (CA 2.12)

F X =.fimi /:
Y
A'
i

The F -algebra F X =.fimi / is a field if and only if mi D 1, in which case it is a separable

extension of F if and only if fi is separable. Therefore A is an etale F -algebra if and only if
f is a separable polynomial.

P ROPOSITION 8.8 Finite products, tensor products, and quotients of diagonalizable (resp.
etale) F -algebras are diagonalizable (resp. etale).

P ROOF. This is obvious for diagonalizable algebras, and it follows for etale algebras. 2

C OROLLARY 8.9 The composite of any finite set of etale subalgebras of a F -algebra is
etale.

P ROOF. Let Ai be etale subalgebras of B. Then A1


An is the image of the map

a1


an 7! a1


an W A1


An ! B;

and so is a quotient of A1


An . 2

P ROPOSITION 8.10 Let A be etale over F , and let F 0 be a field containing F . Then F 0 A
is etale over F 0 .

P ROOF. Let L be such that L A  Lm , and let L0 be a field containing (copies of) both L
and F 0 . Then

m
L0 F 0 F 0 A ' L0 A ' L0 L .L A/  L0 L Lm ' L0 .


2
104 8. T HE G ALOIS THEORY OF ETALE ALGEBRAS

R EMARK 8.11 Let A be an etale algebra over F , and write A as a product of fields, A D
Q
i Ai . A generator for A as an F -algebra is a tuple .i / with each i a generator for Ai
as an F -algebra. Because each Ai is separable
Q over F , such an exists (primitive element
theorem 5.1). Choose an , and let f D i fi be the product of the minimum polynomials
of the i . Then f is a monic polynomial whose irreducible factors are separable.
Conversely, let f be a monic polynomial whose irreducible factors .fi /i are separable.
def Q
Then A D i F X =.fi / is an etale algebra over F with a canonical generator.
In this way, we get a one-to-one correspondence between the set of isomorphism classes
of pairs .A; / consisting of an etale F -algebra and a generator and the set of monic
polynomials whose irreducible factors are separable.

Classification of etale algebras over a field

Fix a separable closure of F , and let G be the Galois group of over F . Recall (Chapter
7) that this is the group of F -automorphisms of equipped with the Krull topology. Let E
be a subfield of , finite and Galois over F . An argument using Zorns lemma shows that
 7! jEW G ! Gal.E=F /
is surjective. The open normal subgroups of G are exactly the kernels of such homomor-
phisms, and G D lim Gal.E=F /.
Let X be a finite set with an action of G,
G  X ! X:
We say that the action is continuous if the map is continuous for the discrete topology on X
and the Krull topology on G. Because X is finite, this is equivalent to saying that the action
factors through G ! Gal.E=F / for some subfield E of finite and Galois over F .
For an etale F -algebra A, let F.A/ denote the set of F -algebra homomorphisms A ! .
Then G acts on F.A/ through its action on :
.f /.a/ D  .f .a//;  2 G, f 2 F.A/, a 2 A;
i.e., f D  f . There exists a finite Galois extension E of F containing the image of every
homomorphism A ! , and the action of G on F.A/ factors through Gal.E=F /; therefore
it is continuous.
Now A F.A/ is a contravariant functor from the category of etale F -algebras to the
category of finite continuous G-sets.
E XAMPLE 8.12 Let A D F X =.f / where f is a separable polynomial in F X . Then
F.A/ ' froots of f .X / in g.
Suppose A is a product of etale F -algebras, A D A1 


 An . Because has no
nonzero zero divisors, every homomorphism f W A ! is zero on all but one Ai , and so, to
give a homomorphism A ! amounts to giving a homomorphism Ai ! for some i . In
other words, Q F
F. i Ai / ' i F.Ai /:
Q
In particular, for an etale F -algebra A ' i Fi ,
G
F.A/ ' HomF -algebra .Fi ; /:
i

From Proposition 2.7, we deduce that F.A/ is finite of order AW F .

 Classification of etale algebras over a field 105

T HEOREM 8.13 The functor A F.A/ is a contravariant equivalence from the category
of etale F -algebras to the category of finite continuous G-sets.
P ROOF. We have to prove the following two statements.
(a) The functor F is fully faithful, i.e., for all etale F -algebras A and B, the map
HomF -algebras .A; B/ ! HomG-sets .F.B/; F.A//
is bijective.
(b) The functor F is essentially surjective, i.e., every finite continuous G-set is isomorphic
to F.A/ for some etale F -algebra A.
Let V be a vector space over F , and let V D F V . Then G acts on V through its
action on , and
def
V ' .V /G D fv 2 V j  v D v for all  2 Gg:
To see this, choose an F -basis e D fe1 ; : : : ; en g for V . Then e is an -basis forV , and
 .a1 e1 C


C an en / D . a1 /e1 C


C . an /en ; ai 2 :
Therefore a1 e1 C


C an en is fixed by all  2 G if and only if a1 ; : : : ; an 2 F .
Similarly, if W is a second vector space over F , then G acts on Hom-linear .V ; W /
by  D   1 , and
HomF -linear .V; W / ' Hom-linear .V ; W /G : (7)
Indeed, a choice of bases for V and W determines isomorphisms HomF -linear .V; W / '
Mm;n .F / (m  n matrices with entries from F ) and Hom-linear .V ; W / ' Mm;n ./,
and G acts on Mm;n ./ in the obvious way. Now (7) follows from the obvious statement:
Mm;n .F / D Mm;n ./G .
Let A and B be etale F -algebras. Under the isomorphism
HomF -linear .A; B/ ' Hom-linear .A ; B /G ;
F -algebra homomorphisms correspond to -algebra homomorphisms, and so
HomF -algebra .A; B/ ' Hom-algebra .A ; B /G .
From (8.6), we know that A (resp. B ) is a product of copies of indexed by the elements
of F.A/ (resp. F.B/). Let t be a map of sets F.B/ ! F.A/. Then
.ai /i 2F .A/ 7! .bj /j 2F .B/ ; bj D a t .j / ;
is a homomorphism of -algebras A ! B , and every homomorphism of -algebras
A ! B is of this form for a unique t. Thus
Hom-algebra .A ; B / ' HomSets .F.B/; F.A//:
This isomorphism is compatible with the actions of G, and so
Hom-algebra .A ; B /G ' HomSets .F.B/; F.A//G :
In other words,
HomF -algebra .A; B/ ' HomG-sets .F.B/; F.A//:
F
This proves (a). For (b), let S be a finite G-set, and let S D i 2I Si be the decomposition
of S into a union of G-orbits. For each i , choose an si 2 Si , and let Fi be the subfield of
fixed by the stabilizer of si . Then
Q

F i 2I Fi ' S: 2
106 8. T HE G ALOIS THEORY OF ETALE ALGEBRAS

S ECOND PROOF OF T HEOREM 8.13

We sketch a second proof of the theorem. For a finite set S with a continuous action of G,
we let
S D Hom.S; /.
In other words, S is a product of copies of indexed by the elements of S. We let G act
on S through its actions on both and S:
1
. f / . / D .f .  //; 2 G; f W S ! ;  2 S;

For every etale F -algebra A, there is a canonical isomorphism

a c 7! . a
c/2F .A/ W A ! F .A/ : (8)

When we let G act on A through its action on , the map (8) becomes equivariant.
Now:
(a) for every etale F -algebra A,
A ' . A/G I
(b) for every finite set S with a continuous action of G, . S /G is an etale F -subalgebra
of S , and
F.. S /G / ' S:
Therefore, A F.A/ is an equivalence of categories with quasi-inverse S . S /G .

I MPROVEMENT OF T HEOREM 8.13

Fix a Galois extension of F (finite or infinite), and let G D Gal.=F /. An etale F -
algebra A is split by if A is isomorphic to a product of copies of . For such an
F -algebra, let F.A/ D Homk-algebra .A; /.
T HEOREM 8.14 The functor A F.A/ is a contravariant equivalence from the category
of etale F -algebras split by to the category of finite continuous G-sets.
The proof is the same as that of Theorem 8.13. When is a finite extension of F ,
continuous may be omitted.

G EOMETRIC RE - STATEMENT OF T HEOREM 8.13

In this subsection, we assume that the reader is familiar with the notion of an algebraic
variety over a field F (geometrically-reduced separated scheme of finite type over F ). The
functor A Spec.A/ is a contravariant equivalence from the category of etale algebras
over F to the category of zero-dimensional algebraic varieties over F . In particular, all
zero-dimensional algebraic varieties are affine. If V D Spec.A/, then
def
HomF -algebra .A; / ' HomSpec.F / .Spec./; V / D V ./

(set of points of V with coordinates in ).

T HEOREM 8.15 The functor V V ./ is an equivalence from the category of zero-
dimensional algebraic varieties over F to the category of finite continuous G-sets. Under
this equivalence, connected varieties correspond to sets with a transitive action.
P ROOF. Combine Theorem 8.13 with the equivalence A Spec.A/. 2
 Comparison with the theory of covering spaces. 107

Comparison with the theory of covering spaces.

The reader should note the similarity of (8.13) and (8.15) with the following statement:
Let F be a connected and locally simply connected topological space, and let
W ! F be a universal covering space of F . Let G denote the group of
covering transformations of =F (the choice of a point e 2 determines an
isomorphism of G with the fundamental group 1 .F; e/). For a covering space
E of F , let F.E/ denote the set of covering maps ! E. Then E F.E/
is an equivalence from the category of covering spaces of F to the category of
(right) G-sets.
For more on this, see the section on the etale fundamental group in my Lectures on Etale
Cohomology and Szamuely, Tamas, Galois groups and fundamental groups. CUP, 2009.
 C HAPTER 9
Transcendental Extensions

In this chapter we consider fields  F with much bigger than F . For example, we
could have C  Q:

Algebraic independence
Elements 1 ; :::; n of give rise to an F -homomorphism
f 7! f .1 ; :::; n /W F X1 ; : : : ; Xn ! .
If the kernel of this homomorphism is zero, then the i are said to be algebraically inde-
pendent over F , and otherwise, they are algebraically dependent over F . Thus, the i
are algebraically dependent over F if there exists a nonzero polynomial f .X1 ; :::; Xn / 2
F X1 ; :::; Xn such that f .1 ; :::; n / D 0, and they are algebraically independent if

ai1 ;:::;in 1i1 :::nin D 0 H) ai1 ;:::;in D 0 all i1 ; :::; in :

X
ai1 ;:::;in 2 F;

Note the similarity with linear independence. In fact, if f is required to be homogeneous of

degree 1, then the definition becomes that of linear independence.
E XAMPLE 9.1 (a) A single element is algebraically independent over F if and only if it
is transcendental over F:
(b) The complex numbers  and e are almost certainly algebraically independent over
Q, but this has not been proved.
An infinite set A is algebraically independent over F if every finite subset of A is
algebraically independent; otherwise, it is algebraically dependent over F .
R EMARK 9.2 If 1 ; :::; n are algebraically independent over F , then the map
f .X1 ; :::; Xn / 7! f .1 ; :::; n /W F X1 ; :::; Xn ! F 1 ; :::; n
is an injection, and hence an isomorphism. This isomorphism then extends to the fields of
fractions,
Xi 7! i W F .X1 ; :::; Xn / ! F .1 ; :::; n /
In this case, F .1 ; :::; n / is called a pure transcendental extension of F . The polynomial
f .X / D X n 1 X n 1
C


C . 1/n n
has Galois group Sn over F .1 ; :::; n / (see 5.40).

109
110 9. T RANSCENDENTAL E XTENSIONS

L EMMA 9.3 Let 2 and let A  . The following conditions are equivalent:
(a) is algebraic over F .A/;
(b) there exist 1 ; : : : ; n 2 F .A/ such that n C 1 n 1 C


C
n D 0;
(c) there exist 0 ; 1 ; : : : ; n 2 F A, not all 0, such that 0 n C 1 n 1 C


C
n D 0;
(d) there exists an f .X1 ; : : : ; Xm ; Y / 2 F X1 : : : ; Xm ; Y and 1 ; : : : ; m 2 A such that
f .1 ; : : : ; m ; Y / 0 but f .1 ; : : : ; m ; / D 0.

P ROOF. (a) H) (b) H) (c) H) (a) are obvious.

(d) H) (c). Write f .X1 ; : : : ; Xm ; Y / as a polynomial in Y with coefficients in the ring
F X1 ; : : : ; Xm ,
f .X1 ; : : : ; Xm ; Y / D fi .X1 ; : : : ; Xm /Y n i .
P

Then (c) holds with i D fi .1 ; : : : ; m /.

(c) H) (d). The i in (c) can be expressed as polynomials in a finite number of elements
: ; m of A, say, i D fi .1 ; : : : ; m / with fi 2 F X1 ; : : : ; Xm . Then (d) holds with
1 ; : :P
f D fi .X1 ; : : : ; Xm /Y n i . 2

D EFINITION 9.4 When satisfies the equivalent conditions of Lemma 9.3, it is said to be
algebraically dependent on A (over F /. A set B is algebraically dependent on A if each
element of B is algebraically dependent on A.

The theory in the remainder of this chapter is logically very similar to a part of linear
algebra. It is useful to keep the following correspondences in mind:

Linear algebra Transcendence

linearly independent algebraically independent
A  span.B/ A algebraically dependent on B
basis transcendence basis
dimension transcendence degree

Transcendence bases
T HEOREM 9.5 (F UNDAMENTAL RESULT ) Let A D f1 ; :::; m g and B D f1 ; :::; n g be
two subsets of . Assume
(a) A is algebraically independent (over F );
(b) A is algebraically dependent on B (over F ).
Then m  n.

We first prove two lemmas.

L EMMA 9.6 (T HE EXCHANGE PROPERTY ) Let f1 ; :::; m g be a subset of ; if is al-

gebraically dependent on f1 ; :::; m g but not on f1 ; :::; m 1 g, then m is algebraically
dependent on f1 ; :::; m 1 ; g:

P ROOF. Because is algebraically dependent on f1 ; : : : ; m g, there exists a polynomial

f .X1 ; :::; Xm ; Y / with coefficients in F such that

f .1 ; :::; m ; Y / 0; f .1 ; :::; m ; / D 0:
 Transcendence bases 111

Write f as a polynomial in Xm ,
X
n i
f .X1 ; :::; Xm ; Y / D ai .X1 ; :::; Xm 1 ; Y /Xm ;
i

and observe that, because f .1 ; : : : ; m ; Y / 0, at least one of the polynomials

ai .1 ; :::; m 1 ; Y /;

say ai0 , is not the zero polynomial. Because is not algebraically dependent on

f1 ; :::; m 1 g;

ai0 .1 ; :::; m 1 ; / 0. Therefore, f .1 ; :::; m 1 ; Xm ; / 0. Since f .1 ; :::; m ; / D

0, this shows that m is algebraically dependent on f1 ; :::; m 1 ; g. 2

L EMMA 9.7 (T RANSITIVITY OF ALGEBRAIC DEPENDENCE ) If C is algebraically depen-

dent on B, and B is algebraically dependent on A, then C is algebraically dependent on
A.

P ROOF. The argument in the proof of Proposition 1.44 shows that if is algebraic over a
field E which is algebraic over a field F , then is algebraic over F (if a1 ; : : : ; an are the
coefficients of the minimum polynomial of over E, then the field F a1 ; : : : ; an ; has
finite degree over F ). Apply this with E D F .A [ B/ and F D F .A/. 2

P ROOF ( OF T HEOREM 9.5) Let k be the number of elements that A and B have in com-
mon. If k D m, then A  B, and certainly m  n. Suppose that k < m, and write B D
f1 ; :::; k ; kC1 ; :::; n g. Since kC1 is algebraically dependent on f1 ; :::; k ; kC1 ; :::; n g
but not on f1 ; :::; k g, there will be a j , k C 1  j  n, such that kC1 is algebraically
dependent on f1 ; :::; k ; kC1 ; :::; j g but not

f1 ; :::; k ; kC1 ; :::; j 1 g:

The exchange lemma then shows that j is algebraically dependent on

def
B1 D B [ fkC1 g X fj g:

Therefore B is algebraically dependent on B1 , and so A is algebraically dependent on B1

(by 9.7). If k C 1 < m, repeat the argument with A and B1 . Eventually well achieve k D m,
and m  n: 2

D EFINITION 9.8 A transcendence basis for over F is an algebraically independent set

A such that is algebraic over F .A/:

L EMMA 9.9 If is algebraic over F .A/, and A is minimal among subsets of with this
property, then it is a transcendence basis for over F .

P ROOF. If A is not algebraically independent, then there is an 2 A that is algebraically

dependent on A X fg. It follows from Lemma 9.7 that is algebraic over F .A X fg/: 2

T HEOREM 9.10 If there is a finite subset A  such that is algebraic over F .A/, then
has a finite transcendence basis over F . Moreover, every transcendence basis is finite,
and they all have the same number of elements.
112 9. T RANSCENDENTAL E XTENSIONS

P ROOF. In fact, every minimal subset A0 of A such that is algebraic over F .A0 / will be a
transcendence basis. The second statement follows from Theorem 9.5. 2

L EMMA 9.11 Suppose that A is algebraically independent, but that A [ fg is algebraically

dependent. Then is algebraic over F .A/:

P ROOF. The hypothesis is that there exists a nonzero polynomial

f .X1 ; :::; Xn ; Y / 2 F X1 ; :::; Xn ; Y

such that f .1 ; :::; n ; / D 0, some distinct 1 ; :::; n 2 A. Because A is algebraically

independent, Y does occur in f . Therefore

f D g0 Y m C g1 Y m 1
C


C gm ; gi 2 F X1 ; :::; Xn ; g0 0; m  1:

As g0 0 and the i are algebraically independent, g0 .1 ; :::; n / 0. Because is a root

of
f D g0 .1 ; :::; n /X m C g1 .1 ; :::; n /X m 1 C


C gm .1 ; :::; n /;
it is algebraic over F .1 ; :::; n /  F .A/: 2

P ROPOSITION 9.12 Every maximal algebraically independent subset of is a transcen-

dence basis for over F .

P ROOF. We have to prove that is algebraic over F .A/ if A is maximal among algebraically
independent subsets. But the maximality implies that, for every 2 X A, A [ fg is
algebraically dependent, and so the lemma shows that is algebraic over F .A/. 2

Recall that (except in 7), we use an asterisk to signal a result depending on Zorns
lemma.

T HEOREM 9.13 (*) Every algebraically independent subset of is contained in a transcen-

dence basis for over F ; in particular, transcendence bases exist.

P ROOF. Let S be the set of algebraically independent subsets of containing the given
S can partially order it by inclusion. Let T be a totally ordered subset of S, and let
set. We
B D fA j A 2 T g. I claim that B 2 S, i.e., that B is algebraically independent. If not,
there exists a finite subset B 0 of B that is not algebraically independent. But such a subset
will be contained in one of the sets in T , which is a contradiction. Now Zorns lemma shows
that there exists a maximal algebraically independent containing S, which Proposition 9.12
shows to be a transcendence basis for over F . 2

It is possible to show that any two (possibly infinite) transcendence bases for over F
have the same cardinality. The cardinality of a transcendence basis for over F is called
the transcendence degree of over F . For example, the pure transcendental extension
F .X1 ; : : : ; Xn / has transcendence degree n over F .

E XAMPLE 9.14 Let p1 ; : : : ; pn be the elementary symmetric polynomials in X1 ; : : : ; Xn .

The field F .X1 ; : : : ; Xn / is algebraic over F .p1 ; : : : ; pn /, and so fp1 ; p2 ; : : : ; pn g contains a
transcendence basis for F .X1 ; : : : ; Xn /. Because F .X1 ; : : : ; Xn / has transcendence degree
n, the pi s must themselves be a transcendence basis.
 Luroths theorem 113

E XAMPLE 9.15 Let be the field of meromorphic functions on a compact complex mani-
fold M .
(a) The only meromorphic functions on the Riemann sphere are the rational functions in
z. Hence, in this case, is a pure transcendental extension of C of transcendence degree 1.
(b) If M is a Riemann surface, then the transcendence degree of over C is 1, and is
a pure transcendental extension of C M is isomorphic to the Riemann sphere
(c) If M has complex dimension n, then the transcendence degree is  n, with equality
holding if M is embeddable in some projective space.

P ROPOSITION 9.16 Any two algebraically closed fields with the same transcendence
degree over F are F -isomorphic.

P ROOF. Choose transcendence bases A and A0 for the two fields. By assumption, there
exists a bijection A ! A0 , which extends uniquely to an F -isomorphism F A ! F A0 , and
hence to an F -isomorphism of the fields of fractions F .A/ ! F .A0 /. Use this isomorphism
to identify F .A/ with F .A0 /. Then the two fields in question are algebraic closures of the
same field, and hence are isomorphic (Theorem 6.8). 2

R EMARK 9.17 Any two algebraically closed fields with the same uncountable cardinality
and the same characteristic are isomorphic. The idea of the proof is as follows. Let F and
F 0 be the prime subfields of and 0 ; we can identify F with F 0 . Then show that when
is uncountable, the cardinality of is the same as the cardinality of a transcendence basis
over F . Finally, apply the proposition.

R EMARK 9.18 What are the automorphisms of C? There are only two continuous auto-
morphisms (cf. Exercise A-8 and solution). If we assume Zorns lemma, then it is easy to
construct many: choose any transcendence basis A for C over Q, and choose any permu-
tation of A; then defines an isomorphism Q.A/ ! Q.A/ that can be extended to an
automorphism of C. Without Zorns lemma, there are only two, because the noncontinuous
automorphisms are nonmeasurable,1 and it is known that the Zorns lemma is required to
construct nonmeasurable functions.2

Luroths theorem
T HEOREM 9.19 (L UROTH ) Let L D F .X / with X transcendental over F . Every subfield
E of L properly containing F is of the form E D F .u/ for some u 2 L transcendental over
F.

We first sketch a geometric proof of Luroths theorem. The inclusion of E into L

corresponds to a map from the projective line P1 onto a complete regular curve C . Now the
Riemann-Hurwitz formula shows that C has genus 0. Since it has an F -rational point (the
image of any F -rational point of P1 ), it is isomorphic to P1 . Therefore E D F .u/ for some
u 2 L transcendental over F .
Before giving the elementary proof, we review Gausss lemma and its consequences.
1A fairly elementary theorem of G. Mackey says that measurable homomorphisms of Lie groups are
continuous (see Theorem B.3, p. 198 of Zimmer, Robert J., Ergodic theory and semisimple groups. Birkhauser,
1984.)
2 We show that the existence of a non-Lebesgue measurable set cannot be proved in Zermelo-Frankel set

theory (ZF) if use of the axiom of choice is disallowed... R. Solovay, Ann. of Math., 92 (1970), 156.
114 9. T RANSCENDENTAL E XTENSIONS

G AUSS S LEMMA
Let R be a unique factorization domain, and let QP be its field of fractions, for example,
R D F X and Q D F .X /. A polynomial f .T / D ai T i in RT is said to be primitive
if its coefficients ai have no common factor other than units. Every polynomial f in QX
can be written f D c.f /
f1 with c.f / 2 Q and f1 primitive (write f D af =a with a a
common denominator for the coefficients of f , and then write f D .b=a/f1 with b the
greatest common divisor of the coefficients of af ). The element c.f / is uniquely determined
up to a unit, and f 2 RX if and only if c.f / 2 R.

9.20 If f; g 2 RT are primitive, so also is fg.

Let f D ai T i and g D bi T i , and let p be a prime element of R. Because f is

P P
primitive, there exists a coefficient ai not divisible by p let ai1 be the first such coefficient.
Similarly, let bi2 be the first coefficient of g not divisible by p. Then the coefficient of
T i1 Ci2 in fg is not divisible by p. This shows that fg is primitive.

9.21 For any f; g 2 RT , c.fg/ D c.f /c.g/ and .fg/1 D f1 g1 .

Let f D c.f /f1 and g D c.g/g1 with f1 and g1 primitive. Then fg D c.f /c.g/f1 g1 with
f1 g1 primitive, and so c.fg/ D c.f /c.g/ and .fg/1 D f1 g1 .

9.22 Let f be a polynomial in RT . If f factors into the product of two nonconstant

polynomials in QT , then it factors into the product of two nonconstant polynomials in
RT .

Suppose f D gh in QT . Then f1 D g1 h1 in RT , and so f D c.f /
f1 D .c.f /
g1 /h1

with c.f /
g1 and h1 in RT .

9.23 Let f; g 2 RT . If f divides g in QT and f is primitive, then it divides g in RT .

Let f q D g with q 2 QT . Then c.q/ D c.g/ 2 R, and so q 2 RT .

P ROOF OF L UROTH S THEOREM

We define the degree deg.u/ of an element u of F .X / to be the larger of the degrees of the
numerator and denominator of u when it is expressed in its simplest form.

L EMMA 9.24 Let u 2 F .X / X F . Then u is transcendental over F , X is algebraic over

F .u/, and F .X /W F .u/ D deg.u/:

P ROOF. Let u.X / D a.X /=b.X / with a.X / and b.X / relatively prime polynomials. Now
a.T / b.T /u 2 F .u/T , and it has X as a root, and so X is algebraic over F .u/. It follows
that u is transcendental over F (otherwise X would be algebraic over F ; 1.31b).
The polynomial a.T / b.T /Z 2 F Z; T is clearly irreducible. As u is transcendental
over F ,
F Z; T ' F u; T ; Z $ u; T $ T;
and so a.T / b.T /u is irreducible in F u; T , and hence also in F .u/T by Gausss lemma
(9.22). It has X as a root, and so, up to a constant, it is the minimum polynomial of X over
F .u/, and its degree is deg.u/, which proves the lemma. 2
 Luroths theorem 115

E XAMPLE 9.25 We have F .X / D F .u/ if and if

aX C b
uD
cX C d
with ac 0 and neither aX C b nor cX C d a constant multiple of the other. These
conditions are equivalent to ad bc 0:

We now prove Theorem 9.19. Let u be an element of E not in F . Then

F .X /W E  F .X /W F .u/ D deg.u/;

and so X is algebraic over E. Let

f .T / D T n C a1 T n 1
C


C an ; ai 2 E;

be its minimum polynomial. As X is transcendental over F , some aj F , and we shall

show that E D F .aj /.
Let d.X / 2 F X be a polynomial of least degree such that d.X /ai .X / 2 F X for all
i , and let

f1 .X; T / D df .T / D d T n C da1 T n 1
C


C dan 2 F X; T :

Then f1 is primitive as a polynomial in T , i.e., gcd.d; da1 ; : : : ; dan / D 1 in F X . The

degree m of f1 in X is the largest degree of one of the polynomials da1 ; da2 ; : : :, say
m D deg.dai /. Write ai D b=c with b; c relatively prime polynomials in F X . Now
b.T / c.T /ai .X / is a polynomial in ET having X as a root, and so it is divisible by f ,
say
f .T /
q.T / D b.T / c.T /
ai .X /; q.T / 2 ET .
On multiplying through by c.X /, we find that

c.X /
f .T /
q.T / D c.X /
b.T / c.T /
b.X /:

As f1 differs from f by a nonzero element of F .X /, the equation shows that f1 divides

c.X/
b.T / c.T /
b.X / in F .X /T . But f1 is primitive in F X T , and so it divides
c.X/
b.T / c.T /
b.X / in F X T D F X; T (by 9.23), i.e., there exists a polynomial
h 2 F X; T such that

f1 .X; T /
h.X; T / D c.X /
b.T / c.T /
b.X /. (9)

In (9), the polynomial c.X /
b.T / c.T /
b.X / has degree at most m in X, and m
is the degree of f1 .X; T / in X. Therefore, c.X /
b.T / c.T /
b.X / has degree exactly
m in X , and h.X; T / has degree 0 in X, i.e., h 2 F T . It now follows from (9) that
c.X/
b.T / c.T /
b.X / is not divisible by a nonconstant polynomial in F X .
The polynomial c.X /
b.T / c.T /
b.X / is symmetric in X and T , i.e., it is unchanged
when they are swapped. Therefore, it has degree m in T and it is not divisible by a
nonconstant polynomial in F T . It now follows from (9) that h is not divisible by a
nonconstant polynomial in F T , and so it lies in F  . We conclude that f1 .X; T / is a
constant multiple of c.X /
b.T / c.T /
b.X /.
On comparing degrees in T in (9), we see that n D m. Thus
9.24
F .X /W F .ai / D deg.ai /  deg.dai / D m D n D F .X /W E  F .X /W F .ai /:
116 9. T RANSCENDENTAL E XTENSIONS

Hence, equality holds throughout, and so E D F ai .

Finally, if aj F , then
9.24
F .X /W E  F .X /W F .aj / D deg.aj /  deg.daj /  deg.dai / D m D F .X /W E;

and so E D F .aj / as claimed.

R EMARK 9.26 Luroths theorem fails when there is more than one variable see Zariskis
example (footnote to Remark 5.5) and Swans example (Remark 5.41). However, the
following is true: if F .X; Y /W E < 1 and F is algebraically closed of characteristic zero,
then E is a pure transcendental extension of F (Theorem of Zariski, 1958).
N OTES Luroth proved his theorem over C in 1876. For general fields, it was proved by Steinitz in
1910, by the above argument.

Separating transcendence bases

Let E  F be fields with E finitely generated over F . A subset fx1 ; : : : ; xd g of E is a
separating transcendence basis for E=F if it is algebraically independent over F and E is
a finite separable extension of F .x1 ; : : : ; xd /.

T HEOREM 9.27 If F is perfect, then every finitely generated extension E of F admits a

separating transcendence basis over F .

P ROOF. If F has characteristic zero, then every transcendence basis is separating, and so
the statement becomes that of (9.10). Thus, we may assume F has characteristic p 0.
p p
Because F is perfect, every polynomial in X1 ; : : : ; Xn with coefficients in F is a pth power
in F X1 ; : : : ; Xn :
X 1 p
i1 p i1
X
in p p in
ai1


in X1 : : : Xn D ai1


in X1 : : : Xn :

Let E D F .x1 ; : : : ; xn /, and assume n > d C 1 where d is the transcendence degree of

E over F . After renumbering, we may suppose that x1 ; : : : ; xd are algebraically independent
(9.9). Then f .x1 ; : : : ; xd C1 / D 0 for some nonzero irreducible polynomial f .X1 ; : : : ; Xd C1 /
with coefficients in F . Not all @f =@Xi are zero, for otherwise f would be a polynomial in
p p
X1 ; : : : ; Xd C1 , which implies that it is a pth power. After renumbering x1 ; : : : ; xd C1 , we
may suppose that @f =@Xd C1 0. Then xd C1 is separably algebraic over F .x1 ; : : : ; xd /
and F .x1 ; : : : ; xd C1 ; xd C2 / is algebraic over F .x1 ; : : : ; xd C1 /, hence over F .x1 ; : : : ; xd /
(1.31), and so, by the primitive element theorem (5.1), there is an element y such that
F .x1 ; : : : ; xd C2 / D F .x1 ; : : : ; xd ; y/. Thus E is generated by n 1 elements (as a field
containing F /. After repeating the process, possibly several times, we will have E D
F .z1 ; : : : ; zd C1 / with zd C1 separable over F .z1 ; : : : ; zd /. 2

A SIDE 9.28 In fact, we showed that E admits a separating transcendence basis with d C 1 elements
where d is the transcendence degree. This has the following geometric interpretation: every irre-
ducible algebraic variety of dimension d over a perfect field F is birationally equivalent with a
hypersurface H in Ad C1 for which the projection .a1 ; : : : ; ad C1 / 7! .a1 ; : : : ; ad / realizes F .H / as a
finite separable extension of F .Ad / (see my notes on Algebraic Geometry).
 Transcendental Galois theory 117

Transcendental Galois theory

T HEOREM 9.29 Let be an algebraically closed field and let F be a perfect subfield of .
If 2 is fixed by all F -automorphisms of , then 2 F , i.e., Aut.=F / D F .
P ROOF. Let 2 X F . If is algebraic over F , then there is an F -homomorphism
F ! sending to a conjugate of in different from . This homomorphism
extends to a homomorphism from the algebraic closure F al of F in to (by 6.8). Now
choose a transcendence basis A for over F al . We can extend our homomorphism to a
homomorphism F .A/ ! by mapping each element of A to itself. Finally, we can extend
this homomorphism to a homomorphism from the algebraic closure of F .A/ to . The
F -homomorphism ! we obtain is automatically an isomorphism (cf. 6.8).
If is transcendental over F , then it is part of a transcendence basis A for over
F (see 9.13). If A has at least two elements, then there exists an automorphism  of A
such that  ./ . Now  defines an F -homomorphism F .A/ ! , which extends to an
isomorphism ! as before. If A D fg, then we let F ./ ! be the F -homomorphism
sending to C 1. Again, this extends to an isomorphism ! . 2

Let  F be fields and let G D Aut.=F /. For any finite subset S of , let

G.S / D f 2 G j  s D s for all s 2 Sg.

Then, as in 7, the subgroups G.S / of G form a neighbourhood base for a unique topology
on G, which we again call the Krull topology. The same argument as in 7 shows that this
topology is Hausdorff (but it is not necessarily compact).
T HEOREM 9.31 Let  F be fields such that G D F , G D Aut.=F /.
(a) For every finite extension E of F in , Aut.=E / D E.
(b) The maps
H 7! H ; M 7! Aut.=M / (10)
are inverse bijections between the set of compact subgroups of G and the set of intermediate
fields over which is Galois (possibly infinite):
Galois
fcompact subgroups of Gg $ ffields M such that F  M  g:

(c) If there exists an M finitely generated over F such that is Galois over M , then G
is locally compact, and under (10):
1W1 finitely generated Galois
fopen compact subgroups of Gg $ ffields M such that F  M  g:

(d) Let H be a subgroup of G, and let M D H . Then the algebraic closure M1 of M

is Galois over M . If moreover H D Aut.=M /, then Aut.=M1 / is a normal subgroup
of H , and  7! jM1 maps H= Aut.=M1 / isomorphically onto a dense subgroup of
Aut.M1 =M /.
P ROOF. See 6.3 of Shimura, Goro., Introduction to the arithmetic theory of automorphic
functions. Princeton, 1971. 2

Exercises
9-1 Find the centralizer of complex conjugation in Aut.C=Q/.
 A PPENDIX A
Review Exercises

A-1 Let p be a prime number, and let m and n be positive integers.

(a) Give necessary and sufficient conditions on m and n for Fpn to have a subfield
isomorphic with Fpm . Prove your answer.
(b) If there is such a subfield, how many subfields isomorphic with Fpm are there, and
why?

A-2 Show that the Galois group of the splitting field F of X 3 7 over Q is isomorphic
to S3 , and exhibit the fields between Q and F . Which of the fields between Q and F are
normal over Q?
p p
A-3 Prove that the two fields Q 7 and Q 11 are not isomorphic.

A-4 (a) Prove that the multiplicative group of all nonzero elements in a finite field is
cyclic.
(b) Construct explicitly a field of order 9, and exhibit a generator for its multiplicative
group.

A-5 Let X be transcendental over a field F , and let E be a subfield of F .X / properly

containing F . Prove that X is algebraic over E.

A-6 Prove as directly as you can that if  is a primitive pth root of 1, p prime, then the
Galois group of Q over Q is cyclic of order p 1.

A-7 Let G be the Galois group of the polynomial X 5 2 over Q.

(a) Determine the order of G.
(b) Determine whether G is abelian.
(c) Determine whether G is solvable.

A-8 (a) Show that every field homomorphism from R to R is bijective.

(b) Prove that C is isomorphic to infinitely many different subfields of itself.

A-9 Let F be a field with 16 elements. How many roots in F does each of the following
polynomials have? X 3 1; X 4 1; X 15 1; X 17 1.

A-10 Find the degree of a splitting field of the polynomial .X 3 5/.X 3 7/ over Q.

A-11 Find the Galois group of the polynomial X 6 5 over each of the fields Q and R.

119
120 A. R EVIEW E XERCISES

A-12 The coefficients of a polynomial f .X / are algebraic over a field F . Show that f .X /
divides some nonzero polynomial g.X / with coefficients in F .

A-13 Let f .X / be a polynomial in F X of degree n, and let E be a splitting field of f .

Show that EW F divides n.
p p
A-14
p p Find a primitive element for the field Q 3; 7 over Q, i.e., an element such that
Q 3; 7 D Q.

A-15 Let G be the Galois group of .X 4 2/.X 3 5/ over Q.

(a) Give a set of generators for G, as well as a set of defining relations.
(b) What is the structure of G as an abstract group (is it cyclic, dihedral, alternating,
symmetric, etc.)?

A-16 Let F be a finite field of characteristic 2. Prove that X 2 D 1 has a solution in F

if and only if jF j  1 mod 4.

A-17 Let E be the splitting field over Q of .X 2 2/.X 2 5/.X 2 7/. Find an element
in E such that E D Q. (You must prove that E D Q.)

A-18 Let E be a Galois extension of F with Galois group Sn , n > 1 not prime. Let H1 be
the subgroup of Sn of elements fixing 1, and let H2 be the subgroup generated by the cycle
.123 : : : n/. Let Ei D E Hi , i D 1; 2. Find the degrees of E1 , E2 , E1 \ E2 , and E1 E2 over
F . Show that there exists a field M such that F  M  E2 , M F , M E2 , but that no
such field exists for E1 .

A-19 Let  be a primitive 12th root of 1 over Q. How many fields are there strictly between
Q 3 and Q.

A-20 For the polynomial X 3 3, find explicitly its splitting field over Q and elements that
generate its Galois group.

A-21 Let E D Q,  5 D 1,p 1. Show that i E, and that if L D Ei , then 1 is a

norm from L to E. Here i D 1.

A-22 Let E be an extension field of F , and let be an algebraic closure of E. Let

1 ; : : : ; n be distinct F -isomorphisms E ! .
(a) Show that 1 ; : : : ; n are linearly dependent over .
(b) Show that EW F  m.
(c) Let F have characteristic p > 0, and let L be a subfield of containing E and
such that ap 2 E for all a 2 L. Show that each i has a unique extension to a
homomorphism i0 W L ! .

A-23 Identify the Galois group of the splitting field F of X 4 3 over Q. Determine the
number of quadratic subfields.

A-24 Let F be a subfield of a finite field E. Prove that the trace map T D TrE=F and the
norm map N D NmE=F of E over F both map E onto F . (You may quote basic properties
of finite fields and the trace and norm.)

A-25 Prove or disprove by counterexample.

 121

(a) If L=F is an extension of fields of degree 2, then there is an automorphism  of L

such that F is the fixed field of .
(b) The same as (a) except that L is also given to be finite.
A-26 A finite Galois extension L of a field K has degree 8100. Show that there is a field
F with K  F  L such that F W K D 100.
A-27 An algebraic extension L of a field K of characteristic 0 is generated by an element
 that is a root of both of the polynomials X 3 1 and X 4 C X 2 C 1. Given that L K, find
the minimum polynomial of .
A-28 Let F=Q be a Galois extension of degree 3n , n  1. Prove that there is a chain of
fields
Q D F0  F1 


Fn D F
such that for every i , 0  i  n 1, Fi C1 W Fi D 3.
A-29 Let L be the splitting field over Q of an equation of degree 5 with distinct roots.
Suppose that L has an automorphism that fixes three of these roots while interchanging the
other two and also an automorphism 1 of order 5.
(a) Prove that the group of automorphisms of L is the symmetric group on 5 elements.
(b) How many proper subfields of L are normal extensions of Q? For each such field F ,
what is F W Q?
A-30 If L=K is a separable algebraic field extension of finite degree d , show that the
number of fields between K and L is at most 2d . [This is far from best possible. See
math.stackexchange.com, question 522976.]
A-31 Let K be the splitting field over Q of X 5 1. Describe the Galois group Gal.K=Q/
of K over Q, and show that K has exactly one subfield of degree 2 over Q, namely, Q C  4 ,
 1 a root of X 5 1. Find the minimum polynomial of  C  4 over Q. Find Gal.L=Q/
when L is the splitting field over Q of
(a) .X 2 5/.X 5 1/;
(b) .X 2 C 3/.X 5 1/.
A-32 Let 1 and 2 be algebraically closed fields of transcendence degree 5 over Q, and
let W 1 ! 2 be a homomorphism (in particular, .1/ D 1). Show that is a bijection.
(State carefully all theorems you use.)
p p
A-33 Find the group of Q-automorphisms of the field k D Q 3; 2.
p
A-34 Prove that the polynomial f .X /p D X 3 5 is irreducible over the field Q p7. If
L is the splitting field of f .X / over Q 7, prove that the Galois group of L=Q 7 is
isomorphic to S3 . Prove that there must exist a subfield K of L such that the Galois group
of L=K is cyclic of order 3.
A-35 Identify the Galois group G of the polynomial f .X / D X 5 6X 4 C 3 over F , when
(a) F D Q and when (b) F D F2 . In each case, if E is the splitting field of f .X / over F ,
determine how many fields K there are such that E  K  F with KW F D 2.
A-36 Let K be a field of characteristic p, say with p n elements, and let  be the au-
tomorphism of K that maps every element to its pth power. Show that there exists an
automorphism of K such that  2 D 1 if and only if n is odd.
122 A. R EVIEW E XERCISES

A-37 Describe the splitting field and Galois group, over Q, of the polynomial X 5 9.

A-38 Suppose that E is a Galois field extension of a field F such that EW F D 53
.43/2 .
Prove that there exist fields K1 and K2 lying strictly between F and E with the following
properties: (i) each Ki is a Galois extension of F ; (ii) K1 \ K2 D F ; and (iii) K1 K2 D E.

A-39 Let F D Fp for some prime p. Let m be a positive integer not divisible by p, and let
K be the splitting field of X m 1. Find KW F and prove that your answer is correct.

A-40 Let F be a field of 81 elements. For each of the following polynomials g.X /,
determine the number of roots of g.X / that lie in F : X 80 1, X 81 1, X 88 1.

A-41 Describe the Galois group of the polynomial X 6 7 over Q.

A-42 Let K be a field of characteristic p > 0 and let F D K.u; v/ be a field extension of
degree p 2 such that up 2 K and v p 2 K. Prove that K is not finite, that F is not a simple
extension of K, and that there exist infinitely many intermediate fields F  L  K.
3
p Find the splitting field and Galois group of the polynomial X
A-43 5 over the field
Q 2.

A-44 For every prime p, find the Galois group over Q of the polynomial X 5 5p 4 X C p.

A-45 Factorize X 4 C 1 over each of the finite fields (a) F5 ; (b) F25 ; and (c) F125 . Find its
splitting field in each case.

A-46 Let Q be a field of finite degree over Q. Assume that there is a q 2 Q, q 0,

such that j./j D q for all homomorphisms W Q ! C. Show that the set of roots of
the minimum polynomial of is the same as that of q 2 =. Deduce that there exists an
automorphism  of Q such that
(a)  2 D 1 and
(b) . / D . / for all 2 Q and W Q ! C.

A-47 Let F be a field of characteristic zero, and let p be a prime number. Suppose that
F has the property that all irreducible polynomials f .X / 2 F X have degree a power
of p .1 D p 0 is allowed). Show that every equation g.X / D 0, g 2 F X , is solvable by
extracting radicals.
p p
A-48 Let K D Q 5; 7 and let L be the splitting field over Q of f .X / D X 3 10.
(a) Determine the Galois groups of K and L over Q.
(b) Decide whether K contains a root of f .
(c) Determine the degree of the field K \ L over Q.
[Assume all fields are subfields of C.]
r r
A-49 Find the splitting field (over Fp ) of X p X 2 Fp X , and deduce that X p X
has an irreducible factor f 2 Fp X of degree r. Let g.X / 2 ZX be a monic polynomial
that becomes equal to f .X / when its coefficients are read modulo p. Show that g.X / is
irreducible in QX .

A-50 Let E be the splitting field of X 3 51 over Q. List all the subfields of E, and find
an element of E such that E D Q .
 123

A-51 Let k D F1024 be the field with 1024 elements, and let K be an extension of k of
degree 2. Prove that there is a unique automorphism  of K of order 2 which leaves k
elementwise fixed and determine the number of elements of K  such that  .x/ D x 1 .
A-52 Let F and E be finite fields of the same characteristic. Prove or disprove these
statements:
(a) There is a ring homomorphism of F into E if and only if jEj is a power of jF j.
(b) There is an injective group homomorphism of the multiplicative group of F into the
multiplicative group of E if and only if jEj is a power of jF j.
A-53 Let L=K be an algebraic extension of fields. Prove that L is algebraically closed if
every polynomial over K factors completely over L.
A-54 Let K be a field, and let M D K.X /, X an indeterminate. Let L be an intermediate
field different from K. Prove that M is finite-dimensional over L.
A-55 Let 1 ; 2 ; 3 be the roots of the polynomial f .X / D X 3 C X 2 9X C 1.
(a) Show that the i are real, nonrational, and distinct.
(b) Explain why the Galois group of f .X / over Q must be either A3 or S3 . Without
carrying it out, give a brief description of a method for deciding which it is.
(c) Show that the rows of the matrix
0 1
3 9 9 9
B3 1 2 3 C
B C
@3 2 3 1 A
3 3 1 2
are pairwise orthogonal; compute their lengths, and compute the determinant of the
matrix.
A-56 Let E=K be a Galois extension of degree p 2 q where p and q are primes, q < p and
q not dividing p 2 1. Prove that:
(a) there exist intermediate fields L and M such that LW K D p 2 and M W K D q;
(b) such fields L and M must be Galois over K; and
(c) the Galois group of E=K must be abelian.
A-57 Let  be a primitive 7th root of 1 (in C).
(a) Prove that 1 C X C X 2 C X 3 C X 4 C X 5 C X 6 is the minimum polynomial of  over
Q.
(b) Find the minimum polynomial of  C 1 over Q.
1
A-58 Find the degree over Q of the Galois closure K of Q2 4 and determine the isomor-
phism class of Gal.K=Q/.
p p
A-59 Let p; q be distinct positive prime numbers, and consider the extension K D Q p; q 
Q.
(a) Prove that the Galois group is isomorphic to C2  C2 .
p
(b) Prove that every subfield of K of degree 2 over Q is of the form Q m where
m 2 fp; q; pqg.
(c) Show that there is an element 2 K such that K D Q .
 A PPENDIX B
Two-hour Examination

1. (a) Let  be an automorphism of a field E. If  4 D 1 and

 ./ C  3 ./ D C  2 ./ all 2 E;

show that  2 D 1.
(b) Let p be a prime number and let a; b be rational numbers such that a2 C pb 2 D 1. Show
2 pd 2
that there exist rational numbers c; d such that a D cc2 Cpd 2cd
2 and b D c 2 Cpd 2 . !!Check!!

2. Let f .X / be an irreducible polynomial of degree 4 in QX , and let g.X / be the resolvent

cubic of f . What is the relation between the Galois group of f and that of g? Find the
Galois group of f if
(a) g.X / D X 3 3X C 1;
(b) g.X / D X 3 C 3X C 1.
3. (a) How many monic irreducible factors does X 255 1 2 F2 X have, and what are their
degrees.
(b) How many monic irreducible factors does X 255 1 2 QX have, and what are their
degrees?
4. Let E be the splitting field of .X 5 3/.X 5 7/ 2 QX . What is the degree of E over
Q? How many proper subfields of E are there that are not contained in the splitting fields of
both X 5 3 and X 5 7?
[You may assume that 7 is not a 5th power in the splitting field of X 5 3.]
5. Consider an extension  F of fields. Define a 2 to be F -constructible if it is
contained in a field of the form
p p p p
F a1 ; : : : ; an ; ai 2 F a1 ; : : : ; ai 1 :

Assume is a finite Galois extension of F and construct a field E, F  E  , such that

every a 2 is E-constructible and E is minimal with this property.
6. Let be an extension field of a field F . Show that every F -homomorphism ! is
an isomorphism provided:
(a) is algebraically closed, and
(b) has finite transcendence degree over F .

125
126 B. T WO - HOUR E XAMINATION

Can either of the conditions (i) or (ii) be dropped? (Either prove, or give a counterexam-
ple.)
You should prove all answers. You may use results proved in class or in the notes, but you
should indicate clearly what you are using.
Possibly useful facts: The discriminant of X 3 C aX C b is 4a3 27b 2 and 28 1 D 255 D
3  5  17.
 A PPENDIX C
Solutions to the Exercises

These solutions fall somewhere between hints and complete solutions. Students were expected
to write out complete solutions.
1-1. Similar to Example 1.28.
p p p
1-2. Verify that 3 is not a square in Q 2, and so Q 2; 3W Q D 4.
1-3. (a) Apply the division algorithm, to get f .X / D q.X /.X a/ C r.X / with r.X /
constant, and put X D a to find r D f .a/.
(c) Use that factorization in F X is unique (or use induction on the degree of f ).
(d) If G had two cyclic factors C and C 0 whose orders were divisible by a prime p, then G
would have (at least) p 2 elements of order dividing p. This doesnt happen, and it follows
that G is cyclic.
(e) The elements of order m in F  are the roots of the polynomial X m 1, and so there are
at most m of them. Hence every finite subgroup G of F  satisfies the condition in (d).
1-4. Note that it suffices to construct D cos 2 7 1
7 , and that QW Q D 2 D 3, and so its
minimum polynomial has degree 3 (see Example 3.21). There is a standard method (once
taught in high schools) for solving cubics using the equation

cos 3 D 4 cos3  3 cos :

By completing the cube, reduce the cubic to the form X 3 pX q. Then construct a
square root a of 4p 2 4p 4q
3 , so that a D 3 . Let 3 be the angle such that cos 3 D a3 , and use
the angle trisector to construct cos . From the displayed equation, we find that D a cos 
is a root of X 3 pX q.
1-5. Let f1 be an irreducible factor of f in EX , and let .L; / be a stem field for f1 over
E. Then mjLW F because L  E (1.20). But f ./ D 0, and so .F ; / is a stem field for
f over F , which implies that F W F D n. Now njLW F because L  F . We deduce
that LW F D mn and LW E D n. But LW E D deg.f1 /, and so f1 D f .
1-6.The polynomials f .X / 1 and f .X / C 1 have only finitely many roots, and so there
exists an n 2 Z such that f .n/ 1. Let p be a prime dividing n. Then f .n/ D 0 modulo
p, and so f has a root in Fp . Thus it is not irreducible in Fp X .
2-1. (a) is obvious, as is the only if in (b). For the if note that for any a 2 S.E/, a F 2 ,
E  F X =.X 2 a/.
p
(c) Take Ei D Q pi with pi the i th prime. Check that pi is the only prime that
p
becomes a square in Ei . For this use that .a C b p/2 2 Q H) 2ab D 0.

127
128 C. S OLUTIONS TO THE E XERCISES

(d) Every field of characteristic p contains (an isomorphic copy of) Fp , and so we are
looking at the quadratic extensions of Fp . The homomorphism a 7! a2 W Fp ! Fp has kernel
f1g, and so its image has index 2 in Fp . Thus the only possibility for S.E/ is Fp , and
so there is at most one E (up to Fp -isomorphism). To get one, take E D F X =.X 2 a/,
a Fp2 .
2-2. (a) If is a root of f .X / D X p X a (in some splitting field), then the remaining
roots are C 1; : : : ; C p 1, which obviously lie in whichever field contains . Moreover,
they are distinct. Suppose that, in F X ,

f .X / D .X r C a1 X r 1
C


C ar /.X p r
C


/; 0 < r < p:

Then a1 is a sum of r of the roots of f , a1 D r C d some d 2 Z
1F , and it follows

that 2 F .
(b) As 0 and 1 are not roots of X p X 1 in Fp it cant have p distinct roots in Fp , and
so (a) implies that X p X 1 is irreducible in Fp X and hence also in ZX and QX (see
1.18, 1.13).
2-3. Let be the real 5thproot of 2. Eisensteins criterion shows that X 5 2 is irre-
ducible in QX , and so Q 5 2 has degree 5 over Q. The remaining roots of X 5 2 are
;  2 ;  3 ;  4 , where  is a primitive 5th root of 1. It follows that the subfield of C
generated by the roots of X 5 2 is Q; . The degree of Q; is 20, since it must be
divisible by QW Q D 4 and QW Q D 5.
m m m
2-4. Its Fp because X p 1 D .X 1/p . (Perhaps I meant X p X that would have
been more interesting.)
2-5. If f .X / D .X i /mi , i j , then
Q

X f .X /
f 0 .X / D mi
X i

i /mi 1.
Q Q
and so d.X / D mi >1 .X Therefore g.X / D .X i /.
2-6. From (2.12) we know that either f is separable or f .X / D f1 .X p / for some polynomial
f1 . Clearly f1 is also irreducible. If f1 is not separable, it can be written f1 .X / D f2 .X p /.
Continue in the way until you arrive at a separable polynomial. For the final statement, note
e e pe
that g.X / D .X ai /, ai aj , and so f .X / D g.X p / D .X i /p with i D ai .
Q Q

3-1. Let  and  be automorphisms of F .X / given by  .X / D X and  .X / D 1 X.

def
Then  and  fix X 2 and X 2 X respectively, and so   fixes E D F .X / \ F .X 2 X /.
But X D 1 C X, and so .  /m .X / D m C X . Thus Aut.F .X /=E/ is infinite, which
implies that F .X /W E is infinite (otherwise F .X / D E1 ; : : : ; n ; an E-automorphism of
F .X/ is determined by its values on the i , and its value on i is a root of the minimum
polynomial of i ). If E contains a polynomial f .X / of degree m > 0, then F .X /W E 
F .X/W F .f .X // D m contradiction.
3-2. Since 1 C  C


C  p 1 D 0, we have C D 1. If i 2 H , then iH D H and
i.G X H / D G X H , and so and are fixed by H . If j 2 G X H , then jH D G X H and
j.G X H / D H , and so j D and j D . Hence 2 Q, and and are the roots of
X 2 C X C . Note that
X
D  i Cj ; i 2 H; j 2 G X H:
i;j
 129

How many times do we have i C j D 0? If i C j D 0, then 1 D i 1 j , which is a nonsquare;

conversely, if 1 is a nonsquare, take i D 1 and j D 1 to get i C j D 0. Hence

i C j D 0 some i 2 H; j 2 G XH 1 is a square mod p p  1 mod 4:

If we do have a solution to i C j D 0, we get all solutions by multiplying it through

by the p 2 1 squares. So in the sum for we see 1 a total of p 2 1 times when p  3
mod 4 and not at all if p  1 mod 4. In either case, the remaining terms add to a rational
number, which implies that each power of  occurs the same number of times. Thus for
p  1 mod 4, D . p 2 1 /2 =.p 1/ D p 4 1 ; the polynomial satisfied by and is
p p
X 2 C X p 4 1 , whose roots are . 1 1 C p 1/=2;  the fixed field of H is Q p. For
p 1
p  1 mod 4, D 2 C . 1/ . p 2 1 /2 p 1
2 =.p 1/ D p 1
2
p 3
4 D pC1
4 ; the
p
polynomial is X 2 C X C p 4 1 , with roots . 1 1 p 1/=2; the fixed field of H is
p
Q p.
3-3. (a) It is easy to see that M is Galois over Q with Galois group h;  i:
 p p  p p
 p2 D p 2 p 2 D p2
:
 3D 3  3D 3

(b) We have
p p 2 p !2
 2 2 2 .2 2/ 2 2 p
D p D D p D . 2 1/2 ;
2 2C 2 4 2 2
p p
i.e.,  2 D .. 2 1//2 . Thus, if 2 M , then  D . 2 1/, and
p p
 2 D . 2 1/. 2 1/ D I

as  2 D 0, this is impossible. Hence M , and so EW Q D 8.p

Extend  to an automorphism (also denoted ) of E. Again  D . 2 1/ and  2 D
, and so  2 1. Now  4 D ,  4 jM D 1, and so we can concludep that  has order 4.
After possibly replacing  with its inverse, we may suppose that  D . 2 1/.
p  p 2
2
Repeat the above argument with : 2 D 3 p3 D 3 p 3 , and so we can extend  to an
3C 3 p 6
3p 3
automorphism of L (also denoted  ) with  D . The order of  is 4.
6
Finally compute that
p p
3 3 p p 3 3
  D p . 2 1/I   D . 2 1/ p :
6 6
Hence     , and Gal.E=Q/ has two noncommuting elements of order 4. Since it has
order 8, it must be the quaternion group.
3-5. Let G D Aut.E=F /. Then E is Galois over E G with Galois group G, and so jGj D
EW E G . Now EW F D EW E G E G W F D jGjE G W F .
4-1. The splitting field is the smallest field containing all mth roots of 1. Hence it is Fpn
where n is the smallest positive integer such that m0 jp n 1, m D m0 p r , where p is prime
and does not divide m0 .
4-2. We have X 4 2X 3 8X 3 D .X 3 C X 2 C 3X C 1/.X 3/, and g.X / D X 3 C X 2 C
3X C 1 is irreducible over Q (use 1.11), and so its Galois group is either A3 or S3 . Either
130 C. S OLUTIONS TO THE E XERCISES

check that its discriminant is not a square or, more simply, show by examining its graph that
g.X/ has only one real root, and hence its Galois group contains a transposition (cf. the
proof of 4.16).
4-3. Eisensteins criterion shows that X 8 2 is irreducible over Q, and so QW Q D 8
where is a positive 8th root of 2. As usual for polynomials of this type, the splitting field
is Q;  where  is any primitive 8th root of 1. For example,  can be taken to be 1Ci p ,
2
which lies in Q; i . It follows that the splitting field is Q; i . Clearly Q; i Q,
because Q, unlike i , is contained in R, and so Q; i W Q D 2. Therefore the degree is
2  8 D 16.
4-4. Find an extension L=F with Galois group S4 , and let E be the fixed field of S3  S4 .
There is no subgroup strictly between Sn and Sn 1 , because such a subgroup would be
transitive and contain an .n 1/-cycle and a transposition, and so would equal Sn . We can
take E D LS3 . More specifically, we can take L to be the splitting field of X 4 X C 2 over
Q and E to be the subfield generated by a root of the polynomial (see 3.26).
4-5. Type: Factor.X 343 X / mod 7; and discard the 7 factors of degree 1.
4-6. Type galois.X 6 C 2X 5 C 3X 4 C 4X 3 C 5X 2 C 6X C 7/;. It is the group PGL2 .F5 /
(group of invertible 2  2 matrices over F5 modulo scalar matrices) which has order 120.
Alternatively, note that there are the following factorizations: mod 3, irreducible; mod 5 (deg
3)(deg 3); mod 13 (deg 1)(deg 5); mod 19, (deg 1/2 (deg 4); mod 61 (deg 1/2 (deg 2/2 ; mod
79, (deg 2/3 . Thus the Galois group has elements of type:

6; 3 C 3; 1 C 5; 1 C 1 C 4; 1 C 1 C 2 C 2; 2 C 2 C 2:

No element of type 2, 3, 3 C 2, or 4 C 2 turns up by factoring modulo any of the first 400

primes (or, so I have been told). This suggests it is the group T 14 in the tables in Butler and
McKay, which is indeed PGL2 .F5 /.
4-7. (H : Condition (a) implies that Gf contains a 5-cycle, condition (b) implies that
Gf  A5 , and condition (c) excludes A5 . That leaves D5 and C5 as the only possibilities
(see, for example, Jacobson, Basic Algebra I, p305, Ex 6). The derivative of f is 5X 4 C a,
which has at most 2 real zeros, and so (from its graph) we see that f can have at most 3 real
zeros. Thus complex conjugation acts as an element of order 2 on the splitting field of f ,
and this shows that we must have Gf D D5 .
H) : Regard D5 as a subgroup of S5 by letting it act on the vertices of a regular pentagon
all subgroups of S5 isomorphic to D5 look like this one. If Gf D D5 , then (a) holds because
D5 is transitive, (b) holds because D5  A5 , and (c) holds because D5 is solvable.
4-8. Suppose that f is irreducible of degree n. Then f has no root in a field Fpm with
n
m < n, which implies (a). However, every root of f lies in Fpn , and so p D 0.
n
Hence .X /j.X p X /, which implies (b) because f has no multiple roots.
Conversely, suppose that (a) and (b) hold. It follows from (b) that all roots of f lie in
Fpn . Suppose that f had an irreducible factor g of degree m < n. Then every root of g
generates Fpm , and so Fpm  Fpn . Consequently, m divides n, and so m divides n=pi for
n=p
some i . But then g divides both f and X p i X, contradicting (a). Thus f is irreducible.
4-9. Let a1 ; a2 be conjugate nonreal roots, and let a3 be a real root. Complex conjugation
defines an element  of the Galois group of f switching a1 and a2 and fixing a3 . On the
other hand, because f is irreducible, its Galois group acts transitively on its roots, and so
 131

there is a  such that  .a3 / D a1 . Now

 
a3 7! a1 7! a2
 
a3 7! a3 7! a1.

This statement is false for reducible polynomials consider for example f .X / D .X 2 C

1/.X 1/.
5-1. For a D 1, this is the polynomial 5 .X /, whose Galois group is cyclic of order 4.
For a D 0, it is X.X 3 C X 2 C X C 1/ D X.X C 1/.X 2 C 1/, whose Galois group is cyclic
of order 2.
For a D 4, it is .X 1/.X 3 C 2X 2 C 3X C 4/. The cubic does not have 1; 2; or 4
as roots, and so it is irreducible in QX . Hence its Galois group is S3 or A3 . But looking
modulo 2, we see it contains a 2-cycle, so it must be S3 .
For any a, the resolvent cubic is

g.X / D X 3 X 2 C .1 4a/X C 3a 1:

Take a D 1. Then f D X 4 C X 3 C X 2 C X 1 is irreducible modulo 2, and so it is

irreducible in QX . We have g D X 3 X 2 C 5X 4, which is irreducible. Moreover
g 0 D 3X 2 2X C 5 D 3.X 13 /2 C 4 23 > 0 always, and so g has exactly one real root.
Hence the Galois group of g is S3 , and therefore the Galois group of f is S4 . [In fact, 4 is
the maximum number of integers giving distinct Galois groups: checking mod 2, we see
there is a 2-cycle or a 4-cycle, and so 1; A3 ; A4 ; V4 are not possible. For D8 , a cant be an
integer.]
sCi t
5-2. We have Nm.a C i b/ D a2 C b 2 . Hence a2 C b 2 D 1 if and only a C i b D s it for
some s; t 2 Q (Hilberts Theorem 90). The rest is easy.
5-3. The degree Qn W Q D '.n/, n a primitive nth root of 1, and '.n/ ! 1 as n ! 1.
9-1. If some element centralizes the complex conjugation, then it must preserve the real
numbers as a set. Now, since any automorphism of the real numbers preserves the set of
squares, it must preserve the order; and hence be continuous. Since Q is fixed, this implies
that the real numbers are fixed pointwise. It follows that any element which centralized the
complex conjugation must be the identity or the complex conjugation itself. See mo121083,
Andreas Thom.
A-1. (a) Need that mjn, because

n D Fpn W Fp D Fpn W Fpm
Fpm W Fp D Fpn W Fpm
m:

Use Galois theory to show there exists one, for example. (b) Only one; it consists of all the
m
solutions of X p X D 0.
A-2. The polynomial is irreducible by Eisensteins criterion. The polynomial has only one
real root, and therefore complex conjugation is a transposition in Gf . This proves that
p
Gf  S3 . The discriminant is 1323 D 33 72 . Only the subfield Q 3 is normal over
p
3
p
3 2
p
3
Q. The subfields Q 7, Q 7 Q 7 are not normal over Q. [The discriminant of
X 3 a is 27a2 D 3.3a/2 .]
p
A-3. The primep7 becomes a square in the first field, but 11 does not: .a C b 7/2 D
a2 C 7b 2 C 2ab
p 7, which lies in Q only if ab D 0. Hence the rational numbers that become
2
squares in Q 7 are those that are already squares or lie in 7Q .
132 C. S OLUTIONS TO THE E XERCISES

A-4.(a) See Exercise 3.

(b) Let F D F3 X =.X 2 C 1/. Modulo 3

X8 1 D .X 1/.X C 1/.X 2 C 1/.X 2 C X C 2/.X 2 C 2X C 2/:

Take to be a root of X 2 C X C 2.
f
A-5. Since E F , E contains an element g with the degree of f or g > 0. Now

f .X /
f .T / g.T /
g.X /
is a nonzero polynomial having X as a root.
A-6. Use Eisenstein to show that X p 1 C


C1 is irreducible, etc. Done in class.
A-7. The splitting field is Q; where  5 D 1 and 5 D 2. It is generated by  D .12345/
and  D .2354/, where  D  and   D  2 . The group has order 20. It is not abelian
(because Q is not Galois over Q), but it is solvable (its order is < 60).
A-8. (a) A homomorphism W R ! R acts as the identity map on Z, hence on Q, and it maps
positive real numbers to positive real numbers, and therefore preserves the order. Hence, for
each real number a,
fr 2 Q j a < rg D fr 2 Q j .a/ < rg;
which implies that .a/ D a.
(b) Choose a transcendence basis A for C over Q. Because it is infinite, there is a bijection
W A ! A0 from A onto a proper subset. Extend to an isomorphism Q.A/ ! Q.A0 /, and
then extend it to an isomorphism C ! C0 where C0 is the algebraic closure of Q.A0 / in C.
A-9. The group F  is cyclic of order 15. It has 3 elements of order dividing 3, 1 element of
order dividing 4, 15 elements of order dividing 15, and 1 element of order dividing 17.
A-10. If E1 and E2 are Galois extensions of F , then E1 E2 and E1 \ E2 are Galois over F ,
and there is an exact sequence

1 ! Gal.E1 E2 =F / ! Gal.E1 =F /  Gal.E2 =F / ! Gal.E1 \ E2 =F / ! 1:

In this case, E1 \ E2 D Q where  is a primitive cube root of 1. The degree is 18.

A-11. Over Q, the splitting field is Q;  where 6 D 5 and  3 D 1 (because  is then a
primitive 6th root of 1). The degree is 12, and the Galois group is D6 (generators .26/.35/
and .123456/).
Over R, the Galois group is C2 .
A-12. Let the coefficients of f be a1 ; : : : ; an they lie in the algebraic closure of F . Let
g.X/ be the product of the minimum polynomials over F of the roots of f in .
Alternatively, the coefficients will lie in some finite extension E of F , and we can take
the norm of f .X / from EX to F X .
A-13. If f is separable, EW F D .Gf W 1/, which is a subgroup of Sn . Etc..
p p
A-14. 3 C 7 will do.
A-15. The splitting field of X 4 2 is E1 D Qi; where 4 D 2; it has degree 8, and Galois
group D4 . The splitting field of X 3 5 is E2 D Q; ; it has degree 6, and Galois group
 133

p p
D3 . The Galois group is the product (they could only intersect in Q 3, but 3 does not
become a square in E1 ).
A-16. The multiplicative group of F is cyclic of order q 1. Hence it contains an element
of order 4 if and only if 4jq 1.
p p p
A-17. Take D 2 C 5 C 7.
A-18. We have E1 D E H1 , which has degree n over F , and E2 D E <1


n> , which has
degree .n 1/ over F , etc.. This is really a problem in group theory posing as a problem in
field theory.
A-19. We have Q D Qi;  0 where  0 is a primitive cube root of 1 and i D  3 etc..
p
A-20. The splitting field is Q; 3 3, and the Galois group is S3 .
A-21. Use that
. C  4 /.1 C  2 / D  C  4 C  3 C 

A-22. (a) is Dedekinds theorem. (b) is Artins theorem 3.4. (c) is O.K. because X p ap
has a unique root in .
A-23. The splitting field is Qi; where 4 D 3, and the Galois group is D4 with generators
.1234/ and .13/ etc..
A-24. From Hilberts theorem 90, we know that the kernel of the map N W E  ! F  consists
of elements of the form  . The map E  ! E  , 7!  , has kernel F  . Therefore the
m
kernel of N has order qq 11 , and hence its image has order q 1. There is a similar proof
for the trace I dont know how the examiners expected you to prove it.
A-25. (a) is falsecould be inseparable. (b) is truecouldnt be inseparable.
A-26. Apply the Sylow theorem to see that the Galois group has a subgroup of order 81.
Now the Fundamental Theorem of Galois theory shows that F exists.
A-27. The greatest common divisor of the two polynomials over Q is X 2 C X C 1, which
must therefore be the minimum polynomial for .
A-28. Theorem on p-groups plus the Fundamental Theorem of Galois Theory.
A-29. It was proved in class that Sp is generated by an element of order p and a transposition
(4.15). There is only one F , and it is quadratic over Q.
A-30. Let L D K. The splitting field of the minimum polynomial of has degree at most
d , and a set with d elements has at most 2d subsets. [Of course, this bound is much too
high: the subgroups are very special subsets. For example, they all contain 1 and they are
invariant under a 7! a 1 .]
A-31. The Galois group is .Z=5Z/ , which cyclic of order 4, generated by 2.

. C  4 / C . 2 C  3 / D 1; . C  4 /. 2 C  3 / D 1:

(a) Omit.
(b) Certainly, the Galois group is a product C2  C4 .
A-32. Let a1 ; : : : ; a5 be a transcendence basis for 1 =Q. Their images are algebraically
independent, therefore they are a maximal algebraically independent subset of 2 , and
therefore they form a transcendence basis, etc..
134 C. S OLUTIONS TO THE E XERCISES

A-33. C2  C2 .
p
A-34. If f .X / were reducible over Q 7, it would have a root in it, but it is irreducible
by Eisensteins criterion. The discriminant is 675, which is not a square in R, much
over Q p
less Q 7.
A-35. (a) Should be X 5 6X 4 C 3. The Galois group is S5 , with generators .12/ and
.12345/ it is irreducible (Eisenstein) and (presumably) has exactly 2 nonreal roots. (b) It
factors as .X C 1/.X 4 C X 3 C X 2 C X C 1/. Hence the splitting field has degree 4 over F2 ,
and the Galois group is cyclic.
A-36. This is really a theorem in group theory, since the Galois group is a cyclic group of
order n generated by . If n is odd, say n D 2m C 1, then D  m does.
A-37. It has order 20, generators .12345/ and .2354/.
A-38. Take K1 and K2 to be the fields corresponding to the Sylow 5 and Sylow 43 subgroups.
Note that of the possible numbers 1; 6; 11; 16; 21; ::: of Sylow 5-subgroups, only 1 divides
43. There are 1, 44, 87, ... subgroups of ....
A-39. See Exercise 14.
A-40. The group F  is cyclic of order 80; hence 80, 1, 8.
A-41. Its D6 , with generators .26/.35/ and .123456/. The polynomial is irreducible by
Eisensteins criterion, and its splitting field is Q;  where  1 is a cube root of 1.
A-42. Example 5.5.
A-43. Omit.
A-44. Its irreducible by Eisenstein. Its derivative is 5X 4 5p 4 , which has the roots X D p.
These are the max and mins, X D p gives negative; X D p gives positive. Hence the graph
crosses the x-axis 3 times and so there are 2 imaginary roots. Hence the Galois group is S5 .
A-45. Its roots are primitive 8th roots of 1. It splits completely in F25 . (a) .X 2 C 2/.X 2 C 3/.
2 2
A-46. ././ D q 2 , and ./. q / D q 2 . Hence . q / is the complex conjugate of ./.
Hence the automorphism induced by complex conjugation is independent of the embedding
of Q into C.
A-47. The argument that proves the Fundamental Theorem of Algebra, shows that its Galois
group is a p-group. Let E be the splitting field of g.X /, and let H be the Sylow p-subgroup.
Then E H D F , and so the Galois group is a p-group.
A-48. (a) C2  C2 and S3 . (b) No. (c). 1
A-49. Omit.
A-50. Omit.
x
A-51. 1024 D 210 . Want x
x D 1, i.e., N x D 1. They are the elements of the form x ;
have
x7! x
x
1 ! k ! K ! K :
Hence the number is 211 =210 D 2.
A-52. Pretty standard. False; true.
A-53. Omit.
 135

A-54. Similar to a previous problem.

A-55. Omit.
A-56. This is really a group theory problem disguised as a field theory problem.
A-57. (a) Prove its irreducible by apply Eisenstein to f .X C 1/. (b) See example worked
out in class.
A-58. Its D4 , with generators .1234/ and .12/.
A-59. Omit.

S OLUTIONS FOR THE EXAM .

1. (a) Let  be an automorphism of a field E. If  4 D 1 and

 ./ C  3 ./ D C  2 ./ all 2 E;

show that  2 D 1.
If  2 1, then 1; ;  2 ;  3 are distinct automorphisms of E, and hence are linearly
independent (Dedekind 5.14) contradiction. [If  2 D 1, then the condition becomes
2 D 2, so either  D 1 or the characteristic is 2 (or both).]
(b) Let p be a prime number and let a; b be rational numbers such that a2 C pb 2 D 1. Show
2 2
that there exist rational numbers c; d such that a D cc 2Cpd
pd
2cd
2 and b D c 2 pd 2 .
p p
Apply Hilberts Theorem 90 to Q p (or Q p, depending how you wish to correct
the sign).

2. Let f .X / be an irreducible polynomial of degree 4 in QX , and let g.X / be the resolvent

cubic of f . What is the relation between the Galois group of f and that of g? Find the
Galois group of f if
(a) g.X / D X 3 3X C 1;
(b) g.X / D X 3 C 3X C 1.
We have Gg D Gf =Gf \ V , where V D f1; .12/.34/; : : :g. The two cubic polynomials
are irreducible, because their only possible roots are 1. From their discriminants, one finds
that the first has Galois group A3 and the second S3 . Because f .X / is irreducible, 4j.Gf W 1/
and it follows that Gf D A4 and S4 in the two cases.
3. (a) How many monic irreducible factors does X 255 1 2 F2 X have, and what are their
degrees?
Its roots are the nonzero elements of F28 , which has subfields F24  F22  F2 . There
are 256 16 elements not in F16 , and their minimum polynomials all have degree 8. Hence
there are 30 factors of degree 8, 3 of degree 4, and 1 each of degrees 2 and 1.
(b) How many monic irreducible factors does X 255 1 2 QX have, and what are their
degrees?
Obviously, X 255 1 D d j255 d D 1 3 5 15


255 , and we showed in class that
Q
the d are irreducible. They have degrees 1; 2; 4; 8; 16; 32; 64; 128.
4. Let E be the splitting field of .X 5 3/.X 5 7/ 2 QX . What is the degree of E over
Q? How many proper subfields of E are there that are not contained in the splitting fields of
both X 5 3 and X 5 7?
136 C. S OLUTIONS TO THE E XERCISES

The splitting field of X 5 3 is Q; , which has degree 5 over Q and 20 over Q.
The Galois group of X 5 7 over Q; is (by ...) a subgroup of a cyclic group of order
5, and hence has order 1 or 5. Since 7 is not a 5th power in Q; , it must be 5. Thus
EW Q D 100, and
G D Gal.E=Q/ D .C5  C5 / C4 :
We want the nontrivial subgroups of G not containing C5  C5 . The subgroups of order
5 of C5  C5 are lines in .F5 /2 , and hence C5  C5 has 6 C 1 D 7 proper subgroups. All
are normal in G. Each subgroup of C5  C5 is of the form H \ .C5  C5 / for exactly 3
subgroups H of G corresponding to the three possible images in G=.C5  C5 / D C4 . Hence
we have 21 subgroups of G not containing C5  C5 , and 20 nontrivial ones. Typical fields:
Q, Q; cos 2
5 , Q; .
[You may assume that 7 is not a 5th power in the splitting field of X 5 3.]
5. Consider an extension  F of fields. Define 2 to be F -constructible if it is
contained in a field of the form
p p p p
F a1 ; : : : ; an ; ai 2 F a1 ; : : : ; ai 1 :

Assume is a finite Galois extension of F and construct a field E, F  E  , such that

every a 2 is E-constructible and E is minimal with this property.
Suppose E has the required property. From the primitive element theorem, we know
D Ea for some a. Now a E-constructible H) W E is a power of 2. Take E D H ,
where H is the Sylow 2-subgroup of Gal.=F /.
6. Let be an extension field of a field F . Show that every F -homomorphism ! is
an isomorphism provided:
(a) is algebraically closed, and
(b) has finite transcendence degree over F .
Can either of the conditions (i) or (ii) be dropped? (Either prove, or give a counterexam-
ple.)
Let A be a transcendence basis for =F . Because W ! is injective,  .A/ is
algebraically independent over F , and hence (because it has the right number of elements)
is a transcendence basis for =F . Now F A    . Because is algebraic over
F A and  is algebraically closed, the two are equal. Neither condition can be dropped.
E.g., C.X /! C.X /, X 7! X 2 . E.g., D the algebraic closure of C.X1 ; X2 ; X3 ; : : :/, and
consider an extension of the map X1 7! X2 , X2 7! X3 , : : :.
 Index

algebra abelian, 39
diagonalizable, 102 cyclic, 39
etale, 102 finite, 13
algebraic, 17, 18 Galois, 37
algebraic closure, 23 inseparable, 37
in a larger field, 24 normal, 37
algebraic integer, 11 separable, 37
algebraically closed, 23 simple, 15
algebraically dependent, 109 solvable, 39
algebraically independent, 109 extension field, 13
algorithm
division, 9 F -homomorphism, 13
Euclids, 10 field, 8
factoring a polynomial, 12 prime, 9
automorphism, 35 stem, 16
fixed field, 36
base Frobenius
neighbourhood, 91 endomorphism, 9, 32
basis fundamental theorem
separating transcendence, 116 of algebra, 12, 19, 23, 24, 61
transcendence, 111 of Galois theory, 39
bound
upper, 85 Galois, 92
Galois closure, 40
characteristic Galois correspondence, 97
p, 9 Galois field, 54
zero, 8 Galois group, 37
closure absolute, 93
separable, 89 infinite, 93
cohomology group, 70 of a polynomial, 44
commutative, 7 Gaussian numbers, 13
composite of fields, 15 general polynomial, 77
conjugates, 38 group
constructible, 20, 43 Cremona, 35
cubic profinite, 98
resolvent, 50 topological, 91
cyclotomic polynomial, 63 group algebra, 66

degree, 13 homomorphism
of an algebra, 102 crossed, 69
separable, 39 of fields, 8
directed, 97 of rings, 7
discriminant, 47 principal crossed, 69

Eisensteins criterion, 11 ideal, 7

element integral domain, 7
maximal, 85 invariants, 36
exponent, 72 inverse limit, 98
extension inverse system, 98

137
138 I NDEX

Lemma independence of characters, 65

Gausss, 11 Liouville, 19
normal basis, 66
module primitive element, 59
G-, 69 strong Nullstellensatz, 101
multiplicity, 31 topology
Krull, 93, 117
norm, 70, 79 trace, 79
normal basis, 66 transcendence degree, 112
normal closure, 40 transcendental, 17, 18

ordering
partial, 85
total, 85

PARI, 6, 10, 12, 16, 18, 48, 51, 54, 56, 57, 63, 82
perfect field, 32
'.n/, 63
polynomial
minimal, 17
monic, 10
primitive, 114
separable, 32
prime
Fermat, 22
primitive element, 59
primitive root of 1, 62

regular n-gon, 64
relatively prime, 101
ring, 7
root
multiple, 31
of a polynomial, 9
simple, 31

separable, 59
separable element, 39
separably closed, 89
Sn , 44
solvable in radicals, 45
split, 28
splits, 23
splitting field, 28
subfield, 8
generated by subset, 15
subring, 7
generated by subset, 14
symmetric polynomial, 75
elementary, 75

theorem
Artins, 36
binomial in characteristic p, 9
Chinese remainder, 101
constructibility of n-gons, 64
constructible numbers, 21, 43
cyclotomic polynomials, 63
Dedekind, 55
Galois 1832, 45
Galois extensions, 38