Some more proofs from the Book: solvability and insolvability of equations in radicals

A. Skopenkov

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arXiv · 0804.4357

Some more proofs from the Book: solvability and insolvability of equations in radicals

A. Skopenkov

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Abstract

This paper is purely expository. We present short elementary proofs of * the Gauss Theorem on constructibility of regular polygons; * the existence of a cubic equation unsolvable in real radicals; * the existence of a quintic equation unsolvable in complex radicals (Galois Theorem). The statements of these celebrated results are simple and well-known. However, their proofs given in most textbooks rely upon much unmotivated material and are far from being economic. We do not use the terms `Galois group' or even `group'. The paper is accessible for students familiar with polynomials and complex numbers, and could be an interesting easy reading for professional mathematicians. Short English version is followed by an extended Russian version where before presenting the proofs we illustrate the main ideas by sequences of problems with hints or solutions.

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A. Skopenkov. 2008-04-28. Some more proofs from the Book: solvability and insolvability of equations in radicals. https://arxiv.org/abs/0804.4357

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