Problem of the Week #201 - Tuesday, April 5, 2016

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SUMMARY

The problem presented in Problem of the Week #201 involves computing the trace and norm of the element $\sqrt{2} + \sqrt{3}$ within the Galois extension $\Bbb Q(\sqrt{2}, \sqrt{3})/\Bbb Q$. The solution, provided by Deveno, effectively demonstrates the necessary calculations and concepts related to Galois theory. Key results include the explicit values for the trace and norm, which are essential for understanding the properties of this extension.

PREREQUISITES
  • Understanding of Galois extensions
  • Familiarity with trace and norm in field theory
  • Knowledge of the properties of square roots in number fields
  • Basic concepts of algebraic numbers
NEXT STEPS
  • Study the computation of trace and norm in other Galois extensions
  • Explore the structure of the field $\Bbb Q(\sqrt{2}, \sqrt{3})$
  • Learn about the Galois group of the extension $\Bbb Q(\sqrt{2}, \sqrt{3})/\Bbb Q$
  • Investigate applications of Galois theory in solving polynomial equations
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Mathematicians, students of abstract algebra, and anyone interested in Galois theory and algebraic number theory will benefit from reading this discussion.

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Problem: Compute the trace and norm of $\sqrt{2} + \sqrt{3}$ in the Galois extension $\Bbb Q(\sqrt{2}, \sqrt{3})/\Bbb Q$.
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This week's problem was correctly solved by Deveno. You can read his solution below.
I will use two theorems without proof:

1. If $a,b$ are algebraic over $F$, then $F(a,b) = [F(a)](b)$.

2. If $F \leq K \leq E$ are fields, with $\{u_i\}$ a basis for $K$ over $F$ and $\{v_j\}$ a basis for $E$ over $K$, then a basis for $E$ over $F$ is $\{u_iv_j\}$.

Together, these imply $\{1,\sqrt{2},\sqrt{3},\sqrt{6}\}$ is a basis for $\Bbb Q(\sqrt{2},\sqrt{3})$ (this hinges on the fact that $x^2 - 2$ is irreducible over $\Bbb Q$; that is, $\sqrt{2}$ is irrational, and that $x^2 - 3$ is irreducible over $\Bbb Q(\sqrt{2})$, which can be seen by squaring:

If $(a + b\sqrt{2})^2 = 3$, with $a,b \in \Bbb Q$, then: $a^2 + 2b^2 = 3$ and $2ab\sqrt{2} = 0$. The second equation tells us $ab = 0$, which then means either $a^2 = 3$ (but $\sqrt{3} \not\in \Bbb Q$), or $2b^2 = 3$, which is likewise impossible (since: $\dfrac{\sqrt{3}}{\sqrt{2}} \not\in \Bbb Q$).).

Now the function $L: \Bbb Q(\sqrt{2},\sqrt{3}) \to \Bbb Q(\sqrt{2},\sqrt{3})$ given by $\alpha \mapsto (\sqrt{2} + \sqrt{3})\alpha$ is linear, so we can find its matrix relative to the basis above, which is:

$[L] = \begin{bmatrix}0&2&3&0\\1&0&0&3\\1&0&0&2\\0&1&1&0\end{bmatrix}$

The POTW asks us to find the trace and determinant of $L$ (which are invariant under a change of basis). The trace is immediately seen to be $0$, the determinant is a bit harder to compute, but expansion by minors gives us:

$\det(L) = (-1)\begin{vmatrix}2&3&0\\0&0&2\\1&1&0\end{vmatrix} + \begin{vmatrix}2&3&0\\0&0&3\\1&1&0\end{vmatrix}$

$= (-1)(6-4) + (9-6) = -2 + 3 = 1$.

Alternatively, if $G = \text{Gal}(\Bbb Q(\sqrt{2},\sqrt{3})/\Bbb Q)$, then if, for $\alpha \in \Bbb Q(\sqrt{2},\sqrt{3})$ we have:

$\text{Trace}(\alpha) = \sum\limits_{\sigma \in G} \sigma(\alpha)$

and:

$\text{Norm}(\alpha) = \prod\limits_{\sigma \in G} \sigma(\alpha)$

(It should be evident that $\Bbb Q(\sqrt{2},\sqrt{3})$ is a Galois extension, since it is the splitting field of $(x^2 - 2)(x^2 - 3)$),

then since the elements of $G$ are determined by: $\sigma(\sqrt{2}),\sigma(\sqrt{3})$ and we must have (since $\sigma$ fixes $\Bbb Q$)

$\sigma(\sqrt{2})^2 - 2 = 0$
$\sigma(\sqrt{3})^2 - 3 = 0$

the elements of $G$ are seen to be:

$\sigma_1 = \text{id}$
$\sigma_2(\sqrt{2}) = -\sqrt{2}, \sigma_2(\sqrt{3}) = \sqrt{3}$ (this fixes $\Bbb Q(\sqrt{3})$)
$\sigma_3(\sqrt{2}) = \sqrt{2}, \sigma_3(\sqrt{3}) = -\sqrt{3}$ (this fixes $\Bbb Q(\sqrt{2})$)
$\sigma_4(\sqrt{2}) = -\sqrt{2}, \sigma_3(\sqrt{3}) = -\sqrt{3}$ (this fixes $\Bbb Q(\sqrt{6})$).

We have 3 automorphisms of order 2, so this group is isomorphic to $V$, the Klein $4$-group.

The trace is thus computed to be:

$(\sqrt{2} + \sqrt{3}) + (-\sqrt{2} + \sqrt{3}) + (\sqrt{2} - \sqrt{3}) + (-\sqrt{2} - \sqrt{3}) = 0$,

while the norm is seen to be:

$(\sqrt{2} + \sqrt{3})(-\sqrt{2} + \sqrt{3})(\sqrt{2} - \sqrt{3})(-\sqrt{2} - \sqrt{3})$

$= (-2 + 3)(-2 + 3) = 1$.
 

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