Geometry of the locus of polynomials of degree 4 with iterative roots (Q539208)

The iterates of a function \(f: M\rightarrow M\) are defines recursively by \(f^{n+1}(x)=f(f^{n}(x))\) for all \(x\in M\) and \(n\geq 0,\) where \(f^{0}(x)=x.\) We say that a function \(f\) is an iterative root of order \(r\geq 2\) of a function \(g,\) if the functional equation \(f^{r}=g\) is satisfied, where \(r\) is the least integer for which this equation holds. In this paper, the authors study polynomial iterative roots of polynomials and describe the locus of complex polynomials of degree 4 in one variable admitting a polynomial iterative square root.