Subalgebras in \(K[x]\) of small codimension (Q2100114)

Let \(\mathbb K\) be an algebraically closed field of characteristic zero, and let \(A\) be a unital subalgebra of \(\mathbb K[X]\) of finite codimension \(n\). The \textit{spectrum} \(Sp(A)\) is defined by the authors as the set of all scalars \(\alpha\in \mathbb K\) such that either \(f^{\prime}(\alpha)=0\) for all polynomials \(f \in A\), or there exists \(\beta\in\mathbb K\) such that \(f(\alpha)=f(\beta)\) for all \(f\in A\). The authors prove that \(0<|Sp(A)|\le 2n\), and they characterize the three cases when \(|Sp(A)= 2n, 2n-1\) and \(1\). They define the \textit{characteristic polynomial} \(\chi_{A}(x)\) of \(A\) as the gcd of all the resultants \(\chi_{p,q}(x)\), where \(p\) and \(q\) are monic polynomials in \(A\) with relatively prime degrees. The spectrum \(Sp(A)\) is equal to the set of zeros of \(\chi_{A}(x)\). The authors characterize subalgebras of finite codimension containing a polynomial of degree \(2\). Quoting from the authors' abstract: ``We proceed by using the spectrum to get descriptions of subalgebras of finite codimension. More precisely we show that \(A\) can be described by a set of conditions that each is either of the type \(f(\alpha) = f(\beta)\) for \(\alpha, \beta\) in \(Sp(A)\) or of the type stating that some linear combination of derivatives of different orders evaluated in elements of \(Sp(A)\) equals zero. We use these types of conditions to, by an inductive process, find explicit descriptions of subalgebras of codimension up to three. These descriptions also include SAGBI bases for each family of subalgebras.''