Ivan Shishkin, Oak Grove

Magnitude of a root of a polynomial

Reviewed

Let P(X):=k=0naiXiP(X):=\sum_{k=0}^{n}a_{i}X^{i} be a non-constant polynomial with complex coefficients.

It is necessarily the case that any of its roots λ\lambda verify λi=0nai|\lambda| \leqslant \sum_{i=0}^n\left|a_i\right| ?

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Solution by Sequoia

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Assume the inequality holds for any root of any complex polynomial of degree at least 11.

Then any root λ\lambda of P(X):=i=0naiXiP(X):=\sum_{i=0}^{n}a_{i}X^{i} is also a root of αP\alpha P where α\alpha is a non-nul complex number. Hence if λ\lambda is a solution of the inequality for PP then it has to be a solution for αP\alpha P. Hence, for all αC\alpha\in\mathbb{C}^{*}:
λαk=0nai\vert\lambda\vert \leqslant \vert\alpha\vert\,\sum_{k=0}^{n}\vert a_{i}\vertBut then one can let α\alpha goes to 00 so λ\lambda has to be zero. But there exists polynomials which roots are not zero thus this is our contradiction.