The polynomial $f(x)=1+x+\frac{x^2}2+\dots+\frac{x^n}{n!}$ often appears in algebra textbooks as an illustration for using derivative to test for multiple roots.
Recently, I stumbled upon Example 2.1.6 in Prasolov's book Polynomials (Springer, 2004), where it is shown that this polynomial is irreducible using Eisenstein's criterion and Bertrand's postulate. However, I do not think the argument is correct. Below you can find the argument presented in the book -- I do not see how Eisenstein is applicable here, since we do not know $p\mid n$. And if we are using Eisenstein's criterion directly to the polynomial $n!f(x)$, this is one of the coefficients that would have to be divisible by $p$. (However, the argument works at least if $n$ is prime.)
So my main question is about the irreducibility of the original polynomial, but I also wonder whether Prasolov's proof can be corrected somehow. To summarize:
- Is the polynomial $f(x)=1+x+\frac{x^2}2+\dots+\frac{x^n}{n!}$ irreducible over $\mathbb Q$?
- Is the Prasolov's proof correct or can it be easily corrected? (Did I miss something there?)
Here is the (whole) Example 2.1.6 from Prasolov's book. The same example is given in прасолов: многочлены(Prasolov: Mnogochleny; 2001,MCCME).
Example 2.1.6. For any positive integer $n$, the polynomial $f(x)=1+x+\frac{x^2}2+\dots+\frac{x^n}{n!}$ is irreducible.
Proof: We have to prove that the polynomial $n!f(x)=x^n+nx^{n-1}+n(n-1)x^{n-2}+\dots+n!$ is irreducible over $\mathbb Z$. To this end, it suffices to find the prime $p$ such that $n!$ is divisible by $p$ but is not divisible by $p^2$, i.e., p \le n < 2p.
Let $n = 2m$ or $n = 2m + 1$. Bertrand's postulate states that there exists a prime p such that m < p \le 2m.
For $n = 2m$, the inequalities p \le n < 2p are obvious. For $n = 2m + 1$, we obtain the inequalities $p \le n-1$ and n-1 < 2p. But in this case the number $n-1$ is even, and hence the inequality n-1 < 2p implies n < 2p. It is also clear that p \le n - 1 < n. $\hspace{20pt}\square$