Adam Bertelli | Searcharxiv

arXiv2025

The structure of the double discriminant

For a polynomial $f(x) = \sum_{i=0}^n a_i x^i$, we study the double discriminant $DD_{n,k} = \operatorname{disc}_{a_k} \operatorname{disc}_x f(x)$. This object has been well studied in algebraic geometry, but has been brought to recent prominence in number theory by its key role in the proof of the Bhargava--van der Waerden theorem. We bridge the knowledge gap for this object by proving an explicit factorization: $DD_{n,k}$ is the product of a square, a cube, and possibly a linear monomial. Our proof is entirely algebraic. We also investigate other aspects of this factorization.

math.NT↗

arXiv2024

Galois groups of reciprocal polynomials and the van der Waerden-Bhargava theorem

We study the Galois groups $G_f$ of degree $2n$ reciprocal (a.k.a. palindromic) polynomials $f$ of height at most $H$, finding that $G_f$ falls short of the maximal possible group $S_2 \wr S_n$ for a proportion of all $f$ bounded above and below by constant multiples of $H^{-1} \log H$, whether or not $f$ is required to be monic. This answers a 1998 question of Davis-Duke-Sun and extends Bhargava's 2023 resolution of van der Waerden's 1936 conjecture on the corresponding question for general polynomials. Unlike in that setting, the dominant contribution comes not from reducible polynomials but from those $f$ for which $(-1)^n f(1) f(-1)$ is a square, causing $G_f$ to lie in an index-$2$ subgroup.

math.NT↗