Some fifth roots that are constructible by marked ruler and compass (Q315364)

Constructions using a marked (i.e., twice-notched) ruler are the subject matter of Chapter 9 (pp. 123--144) of \textit{G. E. Martin}'s book [Geometric constructions. New York, NY: Springer (1998; Zbl 0890.51015)]. It is proved there that the field \(F\) of numbers constructible by a marked ruler is stricly larger than the Euclidean field \(E\) (i.e., the field of numbers constructible by a ruler and a compass), and that \(F\) contains all cubic and quartic irrationalities (in the sense that if \(r\) is a real zero of a polynomial \(f(x) \in F[x]\) having degree \(\leq\) 4, then \(r \in F\)). Also, the values of \(n\) for which a regular \(n\)-gon is constructible by a marked ruler are, by a theorem of Pierpont, the numbers of the form \(2^a3^b p_1\cdots p_t\), where the \(p_j\) are distinct Pierpont primes (i.e., primes of the form \(2^u 3^v + 1\)).NEWLINENEWLINEThe paper under review is concerned with constructions using a marked ruler and a compass. Letting \(K\) be the field of numbers constructible in this manner, \(K\) (which clearly contains \(F\)) was proved by \textit{A. Baragar} in [Am. Math. Mon. 109, No. 2, 151--164 (2002; Zbl 1026.51014)] to contain some quintic irrationalities. However, it is still open whether \(K\) contains all of them, and it is even still unknown whether there exists an \(r \in K \setminus K^5\) such that \(\sqrt[5]{r} \in K\), and in particular whether \(\sqrt[5]{2} \in K\).NEWLINENEWLINEIn the paper under review, the authors exhibit an example of a cubic irrational \(r\) such that \(\sqrt[5]{r} \in K\). The proof is highly technical and uses tools from the authors' earlier paper in [Math. Proc. Camb. Philos. Soc. 156, No. 3, 409--424 (2014; Zbl 1300.51012)], in which they proved that the regular hendecagon (i.e., 11-gon) is constructible by marked ruler and compass.