Finding the splitting field $K$ of $x^4+x^2+1$ over $\mathbb{Q}$ and $[K:\mathbb{Q}]$

abstract-algebrafield-theoryring-theory

I'm trying to find the splitting field $K$ of $x^4+x^2+1$ over $\mathbb{Q}$ and $[K:\mathbb{Q}]$.

So substituting $y=x^2$ we get $y^2+y+1$ which we can solve by the quadratic formula and eventually solve for $x$ to get $\pm \sqrt{\frac{-1 \pm i \sqrt{3}}{2}}$ as the four roots of our original polynomial. How do I find the minimal amount of element I need to adjoin to $\mathbb{Q}$ to get the splitting field $K$ and then show that $[K:\mathbb{Q}]=4$? Thanks so much!

Best Answer

Let $\omega = e^{\pi i/3}$. The roots of $y^2 + y + 1$ are the primitive third roots of unity $\omega^2$ and $\omega^4$ (note that $y^3 - 1 = (y-1)(y^2 + y + 1)$), so the roots of $x^4 + x^2 + 1$ are the sixth roots of unity $\omega, \omega^2, \omega^4, \omega^5$. So the splitting field is $K = \mathbb{Q}(\omega)$.

The polynomial $x^4 + x^2 + 1$ factors as $(x^2 + x + 1) (x^2 - x + 1)$, so $[K: \mathbb{Q}] = 2$. (You can also see this by showing directly that $\mathbb{Q}(\omega) = \mathbb{Q}(\omega^2)$, and $\omega^2$ has $y^2 + y + 1$ as a minimal polynomial.)