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Assuming Choice, every field has an algebraic extension containing roots of all nonconstant base polynomials
Statement
Assume the Axiom of Choice. For every field there is an algebraic extension such that every nonconstant polynomial in has a root in . The construction uses Zorn's lemma to place Artin's proper ideal inside a maximal ideal.
Facts & Assumptions
Given: A field , the set of its monic nonconstant polynomials, , and .
Artin's ideal is proper (Artin's ideal generated by for all monic nonconstant is proper).
Assuming Choice, every proper ideal of a nonzero commutative ring is contained in a maximal ideal (In a nonzero commutative ring, every proper ideal is contained in a maximal ideal).
The quotient of a commutative ring by a maximal ideal is a field ( is a field if and only if is a maximal ideal).
If are algebraic over , then is finite (An extension generated by finitely many algebraic elements is finite).
Assuming Choice, a nonempty poset whose chains have upper bounds has a maximal element (Zorn's lemma).
Every finite field extension is algebraic: each is a root of a nonzero polynomial in (Every finite field extension is algebraic).
Proof
By [L1] and the maximal-ideal theorem [L2], whose choice step is Zorn's lemma [L5], choose a maximal ideal of containing .
Put . By [L3] this is a field. The composite is injective, since a nonzero scalar in would be a unit and force , so it identifies with a subfield of .
For each , the residue satisfies because . Multiplying an arbitrary nonconstant polynomial by the inverse of its leading coefficient makes it monic without changing its roots, so every nonconstant polynomial over has a root in .
Every element of is represented by a polynomial involving finitely many variables , hence lies in . Each residue is algebraic over , so [L4] makes this subextension finite and [L6] makes it algebraic. Thus is algebraic.
The field constructed above is the required algebraic root extension, and the only choice principle used is the maximal-ideal application in step 1.1.
Depends on
- Artin's ideal generated by $f(x_f)$ for all monic nonconstant $f\in F[x]$ is proper
- In a nonzero commutative ring, every proper ideal is contained in a maximal ideal
- $R/M$ is a field if and only if $M$ is a maximal ideal
- An extension generated by finitely many algebraic elements is finite
- Zorn's lemma
- Every finite field extension is algebraic
Used by
Dependency tree · next 3 levels
Direct dependencies and their dependencies through the next three levels: 74 results over 15 levels. An arrow runs from a result to what uses it, and this result sits at the bottom with a heavier outline. Click the chart to enlarge it.
Sources
- J. S. Milne, Fields and Galois Theory, Chapter 6 (standard reference, not scraped)
- P. L. Clark, Field Theory, Theorem 4.9 (standard reference, not scraped)