The resultant $\operatorname{Res}(f,g)$ of two polynomials over a field $k$ is a polynomial in the coefficients of $f$ and $g$ which enjoys the property of being nonzero if and only if $f$ and $g$ have no common root in an algebraic closure $\overline{k}$ of $k$.
Does there exist a similar construction for three polynomials? There seems to be none. I would like to suggest the following conjecture:
Conjecture: there does not exist a function $\operatorname{Res}(f,g,h)$ of three polynomials $f,g,h \in k[x]$, which is a polynomial in the coefficients of $f,g,h$, having the property of being zero if and only if the polynomials $f,g,h$ have a common root in an algebraic closure $\overline{k}$ of $k$.
Best Answer
This can be done using resolvants - which date back to Kronecker if not earlier. Below is an elementary introduction from p.14 of Elkadi et al. Algebraic geometry and geometric modeling.
