Swan-like results for binomials and trinomials over finite fields of odd characteristic (Q648071)

Using a result of Stickelberger, \textit{R. G. Swan} has shown in [Pac. J. Math. 12, 1099--1106 (1962; Zbl 0113.01701)] that over a finite field \(F\) of odd order, the number of irreducible factors of a squarefree polynomial \(f\) is equivalent modulo \(2\) to the degree, if and only if the discriminant \(D(f)\) is a square. The authors observe that since \(D(x^n+a) = (-1)^{n(n-1)/2}n^na^{n-1}\), the parity of the number of factors can be easily determined from \(a\) and \(n\). The authors also examine the known formula for the discriminant of a trinomial \(x^n+ax^k+b\), and determine the parity of the number of irreducible factors over \(F\), whenever the discriminant is a monomial in \(n\), \(k\), \(a\) and \(b\).