Separate zeros and Galois extensions of skew fields (Q1117305)

Let K be a skew field and \(f=\sum X^ ia_ i\) a polynomial in X over K (with coefficients on the right). An element \(\alpha\) of K is called a (left) zero of f if \(\sum \alpha^ ia_ i=0\). If S is a subset of K and \(\alpha\in K\), then the author calls \(\alpha\) dependent on S if there is a finite subset F of S such that every polynomial having all members of F as zero also has \(\alpha\) as zero. This is shown to be a dependence relation in the usual sense [cf. e.g. \textit{P. M. Cohn}, Universal Algebra, 2nd Ed, Reidel (1981; Zbl 0461.08001), p. 252]. A set of zeros of a polynomial is called separate if it is independent in the sense of the above definition. It is shown that the number of separate zeros of a polynomial does not exceed its degree, and for a generating element of a finite Galois extension there is equality. A more detailed study of the zeros in a given conjugacy class is made and the well known results of \textit{B. Gordon} and \textit{T. Motzkin} [Trans. Am. Math. Soc. 116, 218-226 (1965; Zbl 0141.030)] are rederived and somewhat sharpened.