Ivan Shishkin, Rye (1878)

Problems/General algebraReviewed

Real roots and derivative polynomial

by Ancient Tree·
26
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This score reflects both the level of the required concepts and the difficulty of the solution.Ce score tient compte à la fois du niveau des notions nécessaires et de la difficulté de la résolution.

  1. 110First steps / middle schoolPremiers pas / collège
  2. 1125Beginner / high schoolDébutant / lycée
  3. 2650Intermediate / undergraduateIntermédiaire / licence
  4. 5170Advanced / graduateAvancé / master
  5. 7190Expert / specializedExpert / spécialisé
  6. 91100Research levelNiveau recherche
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Let PP be a monic polynomial whose roots are all real. Are the roots of its derivative PP' also real ?

Conversely, if the roots of PP' are all real, does it imply that the roots of PP are real too ?

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Solution by Anduril

Discussions1 useful vote

For the first part, use Rolle’s Theorem and the fact that if a is a root of P with the order p then it is a root of P' of order p-1 so if we have the roots a1a_{1},...,ama_{m} with multiplicities
n1n_{1},...,nmn_{m}, we have m-1 roots for P' that are not those of P with Rolle and nin_{i}-1 from each root aia_{i} of P so in total
i=1m(ni1)+m1=(i=1mni)1=deg(P)1=deg(P)\sum_{i=1}^{m} (n_i - 1) + m - 1 = \left( \sum_{i=1}^{m} n_i \right) - 1 = \deg(P) - 1 = \deg(P')

The second point is wrong, just consider X2X^{2}+1 for P.

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