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Field and Galois theory

44 articles

Hilbert's Theorem 90

Hilbert's Theorem 90 is an algebra theorem stating that for a finite cyclic field extension, every norm-one element is a quotient y/σ(y), proved as Satz 90 of Hilbert's 1897 Zahlbericht.

Inverse Galois problem

The inverse Galois problem asks whether every finite group occurs as the Galois group of a finite Galois extension of the rational numbers; it remains open in general.

Kummer theory

Kummer theory, created by Ernst Eduard Kummer, classifies cyclic extensions of a field obtained by adjoining nth roots of elements, assuming the field contains roots of unity.

Niels Henrik Abel

Niels Henrik Abel (1802–1829) was a Norwegian mathematician who proved the general fifth-degree equation cannot be solved by radicals, founded elliptic function theory, and died of tuberculosis at 26.

Normal extension

A normal extension is an algebraic field extension E/F in which every irreducible polynomial over F with a root in E has all its roots in E; together with separability, normality makes the extension Galois.

Perfect field

A perfect field is a field in which every irreducible polynomial is separable, meaning it has no repeated roots in any field extension; Steinitz introduced the concept in 1910.

Permutation polynomial

A permutation polynomial is a polynomial over a finite field, usually, that induces a bijection on the field's elements, with applications in cryptography, coding theory, and combinatorial design.

Quintic equation

A quintic equation is a polynomial equation of degree five. Unlike lower-degree equations, the general quintic cannot be solved by radicals, as proved by Abel and Galois.

Resolvent (Galois theory)

In Galois theory, a resolvent (Galois resolvent) is an auxiliary equation whose roots let one find the roots of a given equation, an idea Lagrange introduced in 1770.

Rijndael S-box

The Rijndael S-box, also known as the AES S-box, is the substitution table used in the Advanced Encryption Standard, the block cipher NIST selected in 2000.

Separable extension

A separable field extension is an algebraic field extension in which every element's minimal polynomial has no repeated roots, a condition required for Galois extensions.

Splitting field

A splitting field of a polynomial over a field F is the smallest field extension of F in which the polynomial factors completely into linear factors.

Transcendence degree

The transcendence degree of a field extension L/K, written trdeg(L/K), is the size of a maximal set of elements of L algebraically independent over K, measuring how many transcendental quantities the extension contains.

Witt group

The Witt group of a field is the abelian group of nondegenerate quadratic forms over it modulo hyperbolic forms, under orthogonal sum; with tensor product it becomes the Witt ring.