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If K/FK/F is a finite algebraic extension, it can be defined by a polynomial f(x)F[x]f(x)\in F[x]. The polynomial discriminant, disc(f)\mathrm{disc}(f), is well-defined up a factor of a non-zero square. The discriminant root field of the extension is F(disc(f))F(\sqrt{\mathrm{disc}(f)}), which is well-defined.

If n=[K:F]n=[K:F], then the Galois group GG for K/FK/F is a subgroup of SnS_n, well-defined up to conjugation. The discriminant root field can alternatively be described as the fixed field of GAnG\cap A_n.

Note if F=QpF=\mathbb{Q}_p, there are only a small number of possibilities for quadratic extensions of Qp\mathbb{Q}_p. If pp is odd, we let uu denote any unit in Zp\mathbb{Z}_p which is not a square modulo pp. Then, the quadratic extensions of Qp\mathbb{Q}_p are Qp(u)\mathbb{Q}_p(\sqrt{u}) (which is the unramified quadratic extension), Qp(p)\mathbb{Q}_p(\sqrt{p}), and Qp(pu)\mathbb{Q}_p(\sqrt{pu}).

For p=2p=2, there are seven quadratic extensions of Q2\mathbb{Q}_2. Here we let uu denote any value in Z2\mathbb{Z}_2 which is congruent to 55 modulo 88 (for example, u=5u=5) so again Q2(u)\mathbb{Q}_2(\sqrt{u}) is the quadratic unramified extension; the other six quadratic extensions are Q2(1)\mathbb{Q}_2(\sqrt{-1}), Q2(u)\mathbb{Q}_2(\sqrt{-u}), Q2(2)\mathbb{Q}_2(\sqrt{2}), Q2(2u)\mathbb{Q}_2(\sqrt{2u}), Q2(2)\mathbb{Q}_2(\sqrt{-2}), and Q2(2u)\mathbb{Q}_2(\sqrt{-2u}).

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  • Review status: reviewed
  • Last edited by John Jones on 2023-04-07 13:18:15
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