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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 $p \le n - 1 < n$. $\hspace{20pt}\square$

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    The irreducibility of these polynomials is due to Schur and uses prime ideal factorization in number fields. The proof in Prasolov's book is obviously bogus (for general $n$). I wrote up a correct proof at http://www.math.uconn.edu/~kconrad/blurbs/gradnumthy/schurtheorem.pdf. (By the way, the publisher name you give looks weird. The abbreviation they use in English is MCCME, not MCMO -- Moscow Center for Continuous Mathematical Education)2012-04-12
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    Thanks a lot @KCd, I'll have a look at the proof from your link. (I'll probably need some time to go through it.) Perhaps you could consider posting your comment as an answer?2012-04-12
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    Related post on MO: [Irreducible polynomial $p_{n}(x)=\sum_{k=0}^n\frac{x^k}{k!}$ for all positive integers $n$](http://mathoverflow.net/questions/240039/irreducible-polynomial-p-nx-sum-k-0n-dfracxkk-for-all-positive)2016-05-30

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