On the number of invariant polynomials of matrix commutators (Q1361837)

For a matrix \(A\in F^{n\times n}\), \(F\) being a field, let \(i(A)\) denote a number of nonconstant invariant polynomials of \(A\). Given \(A\), the author solves the problem of characterizing the possible values of \(i(XA- AX)\) when \(X\) varies, assuming that all the irreducible polynomials in \(F(x)\) have degree \(\leq 2\). In particular, the problem is solved for algebraically closed fields and for the field \(\mathbb{R}\) of real numbers.