Descartes' rule of signs, Newton polygons, and polynomials over hyperfields (Q2216552)

Descartes' rule of signs and Newton polygons are classical methodes to estimate the number of zeros of a polynomial. The authors use hyperfields to give a unified and conceptual proof for these theorems. To this end they need to introduce polynomials over hyperfields and define their roots and multiplicities. Given a homomorphism from a field \(K\) into a hyperfield \(F\), the authors prove: The multiplicity of \(b\in F\) as a root of the image of a polynomial~\(p\) over \(K\) is at least the sum of all multiplicity of all preimages of \(b\) as a root of \(p\). This proposition is then applied to the sign hyperfield and the tropical hyperfield to obtain the two classical theorems. A rigorous approach to polynomial algebras over hyperfields is discussed in detail in an appendix.