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Galois groups of irreducible quartic polynomials
The resolvent cubic of an irreducible quartic polynomial $P(x)$ can be used to determine its Galois group $G$; that is, the Galois group of the splitting field of $P(x)$. Let $m$ be the degree over $k$ of the splitting field of the resolvent cubic (it can be either $R_4(y)$ or $R_5(y)$; they have the same splitting field). Then the group $G$ is a subgroup of the symmetric group $S_4$. More precisely:[4]
If $m = 1$ (that is, if the resolvent cubic factors into linear factors in $k$), then $G$ is the group $\{e, (12)(34), (13)(24), (14)(23)\}$.
If $m = 2$ (that is, if the resolvent cubic has one and, up to multiplicity, only one root in $k$), then, in order to determine $G$, one can determine whether or not $P(x)$ is still irreducible after adjoining to the field $k$ the roots of the resolvent cubic. If not, then $G$ is a cyclic group of order 4; more precisely, it is one of the three cyclic subgroups of $S_4$ generated by any of its six 4-cycles. If it is still irreducible, then $G$ is one of the three subgroups of $S_4$ of order 8, each of which is isomorphic to the dihedral group of order 8.
If $m = 3$, then $G$ is the alternating group $A_4$.
If $m = 6$, then $G$ is the whole group $S_4$.
References
[4] Kaplansky, Irving (1972), "Fields: Cubic and quartic equations", Fields and Rings, Chicago Lectures in Mathematics (2nd ed.), University of Chicago Press
maths.ed.ac.uk/~v1ranick/papers/kapfield.pdf |
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