Field trace and norm (Equivalence between definitions)

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SUMMARY

The discussion centers on the equivalence between the definitions of trace and norm in the context of field extensions, specifically for a separable extension L/K with characteristic zero. The user successfully proves that the trace and norm of an element a in L correspond to the trace and determinant of the linear operator T_a defined by T_a(x)=ax. The characteristic polynomial of T_a is confirmed to be (x-a_1)...(x-a_n), where a_1,...,a_n are the images of a under the K embeddings of L into an algebraic closure C.

PREREQUISITES
  • Understanding of field extensions and embeddings in algebra
  • Familiarity with linear operators and their properties
  • Knowledge of characteristic polynomials and determinants
  • Concept of trace in linear algebra
NEXT STEPS
  • Study the properties of separable field extensions in algebra
  • Learn about the relationship between linear transformations and their characteristic polynomials
  • Explore the concept of algebraic closures and their implications in field theory
  • Investigate the applications of trace and norm in various algebraic contexts
USEFUL FOR

Mathematicians, algebraists, and students studying field theory, particularly those interested in linear algebra and its applications in abstract algebra.

Palindrom
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I'm sure whoever is familiar with this subject has already seen this several times. I've seen it several times myself, and I even remember proving it in detail a couple of years ago, but now I'm stuck.

I'm quoting what my professor did in class.

Given some separable extension L/K, say for simplicity char(K)=0 and forget separability issues, we know that there are exactly n=[L:K] K embeddings of L into some algebraic closure C of L. For a in L we define its trace and norm (with respect to the extension L/K) respectively as the sum and the product of the n embeddings' actions on a.

All good.

Now the proposition that's bugging me is the following one: had we defined a linear operator on L by T_a(x)=ax, then the trace and the norm of a are exactly that trace and determinant of T_a.

I'm trying to show that the characteristic polynomial of T_a is exactly (x-a_1)...(x-a_n), where a_1,...,a_n are the images of a under the K embeddings of L into C. While this is a very nice idea, I'm failing miserably.

Help?
 
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In case anyone decided to try and help, I finally succeeded in writing a proof. My original idea even worked!
 
great work!
 

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