Solution
ID: past-exam-of-the-mathematics-course-of-the-university-of-cambridge/2015/ii/paper-4/17f/iii/solution
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2015 ii Paper 4 17F iii Solution by
Codex 0 Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-10-06
In characteristic two, let and with . The Artin–Schreier polynomial is irreducible: if solved it, a finite pole of would create a pole of even order in , impossible for ; at infinity a pole of likewise gives even order, while has order one. A constant cannot solve it either. Its derivative is one, so this degree-two extension is separable field extension. Adjoining in characteristic two is either trivial or purely inseparable field extension, since the derivative of vanishes. Hence .
For the second example take . Every extension still has characteristic eleven, and in it. Thus the only eleventh root of unity is one, whose order is one, and there is no primitive eleventh root in any extension.
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