 Solution

For a polynomial with $n$ distinct roots, the criterion isWrite $\delta ={\prod }_{i<j}({\alpha }_i-{\alpha }_j)\ne 0$. Part (a) gives $\sigma \delta =\mathrm{sgn}(\sigma )\delta$. If every Galois permutation is even, $\delta$ is fixed by the entire Galois group and therefore belongs to its fixed field $\mathbb{Q}$. Thus ${\Delta }_f={\delta }^2$ is a rational square. Conversely, if ${\Delta }_f=q^2$ with $q\in {\mathbb{Q}}^{\times }$, then ${\delta }^2=q^2$ in a field implies $\delta =\pm q$. Every automorphism fixes this nonzero element, so its permutation sign must be one.

The distinct-root hypothesis is necessary in the statement's intended degree-$n$ permutation action. The source says “arbitrary degree” without stating that hypothesis. If repeated roots were allowed, zero discriminant would carry no sign information: $(X-1{)}^2(X^2-2)$ has discriminant zero, while its nontrivial automorphism swaps $\sqrt{2},-\sqrt{2}$ and fixes the two rational-root positions, an odd permutation. The criterion above applies to the squarefree polynomial, or to the squarefree part with its degree and root action adjusted accordingly.