Ordered fields satisfying Rolle's theorem (Q5966242)

An ordered field F is called a ''Rolle field'' if whenever a polynomial over F has distinct roots a and b in F, then its formal derivative has a root in F between a and b. The main theorem of the paper asserts that the Rolle fields are precisely the Henselian fields with residue class fields which are real closed and value groups which are n-divisible for all odd n. If F is a Rolle field and a polynomial has distinct roots a and b in F, then its formal derivative is shown to have a root in F which is between a and b simultaneously with respect to every ordering of F. A very weak version of this fact is proved for arbitrary fields. It is also shown that the fields satisfying Rolle's theorem for all rational functions are exactly the real closed fields. (Problem: what about integral functions?) Rolle fields are very well-behaved and well understood. They arise naturally as ''local objects'' in the ''reduced theory'' of quadratic forms: the minimal algebraic extensions of F which are Rolle fields are shown to be exactly the maximal algebraic extensions of F which are Henselian with real-closed residue class fields and which have Witt rings naturally isomorphic to certain ''local'' Witt rings which play a crucial role in that theory [\textit{R. Rrown} and \textit{M. Marshall}, Rocky Mt. J. Math. 11, 161-175 (1981; Zbl 0452.10022)]. Rolle fields also arise in a construction of Artin; the Rolle fields with \(n<\infty\) orderings are precisely those fields with exactly 2n-1 minimal proper extensions (in an algebraic closure) and exactly one place into the real numbers; such fields are ''(2n-1)-maximal'' in the sense of \textit{P. J. McCarthy} [Proc. Am. Math. Soc. 18, 347-351 (1967; Zbl 0154.039)].