0
$\begingroup$

Let $F$ be a field. Let $p_1$ and $p_2$ be two separable polynomial in $F[x]$, then is it true that $\gcd(p_1,p_2) \in F[x]$?

  • 3
    Double-check the question, it's analogous to asking if squarefree integers have a gcd (of course they do, since *all* integers have a gcd). Maybe you want to know if the gcd remains separable?2017-02-16

1 Answers 1

4

It is always true that $\gcd(p_1,p_2)$ is in $F[x]$, because Euclid's algorithm for calculating a $\gcd$ works essentially unchanged using polynomial arithmetic. Separability doesn't enter into it.