Solution

ID: past-exam-of-the-probability-statistics-and-options-i-course-of-the-university-of-oxford/2007/b/1/solution

The degree of a field extension is the dimension of as a vector space over . The tower law states that for finite extensions ,
If the left side is prime, one factor is one. Degree one forces equality of the corresponding fields, so there is no proper intermediate field.
Let have 32 elements. Its prime field is , and its dimension over that field is five, since a dimension- vector space over has elements. Every element outside has minimal polynomial of degree five: its generated intermediate field has degree greater than one and dividing five.
Every element of satisfies , by the multiplicative group of a field of order 31 for nonzero elements. Hence splits completely over and has no repeated roots, since its derivative is minus one. Conversely any irreducible polynomial over gives a quotient ring with 32 elements. Its defining element satisfies , so divides that polynomial and therefore has all five distinct roots in .
The 30 elements of are thus partitioned into disjoint five-element root sets of the irreducible polynomials. Their number is
No classification of the six individual polynomials is needed; the tower degree and separability already count them all.

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