Every countable set of real numbers is contained in a countable set closed under taking all real roots of a polynomial with coefficients in that set. Let consist of these roots of a polynomial, excluding the zero polynomial. There are countably many finite coefficient lists over a countable set, and each nonzero polynomial has finitely many roots of a polynomial; hence is countable. Define and . The countable union of countable sets theorem shows that is countable. Every finite coefficient list in belongs to one stage , so its real roots of a polynomial belong to . Retaining at the next stage matters: need not contain .
Articles by others on the same topic
There are currently no matching articles.