Solution

ID: past-exam-of-the-number-theory-course-of-the-university-of-oxford/2007/a/1/solution

By Vieta's formulas, the elementary symmetric polynomials in the roots give
For each root, . Multiplying by and summing gives the power sum recurrence
Its initial values are , and . They are polynomials with integer coefficients in . The recurrence uses only addition and multiplication by those coefficients, so induction proves the same for every . This is the cubic case of Newton's identities.
For , put , , . Then and . Expanding the product of root differences gives
This is the discriminant of a depressed cubic in depressed form, and the displayed identity also proves its expression in integer-coefficient symmetric polynomials.

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