A categorical approach to the theory of equations (Q757578)

Two categories of polynomials are constructed from a given field F. The category \({\mathbb{C}}otop(F)\) (resp. \({\mathbb{P}}ol(F))\) has as objects the separable (resp. irreducible separable) polynomials in F[X], and has as morphisms \(f\to g\) the polynomials \(k\in F[X]\) such that \(\deg (k)<\deg (g)\) and g divides f(k). The composition of k: \(f\to g\) with \(\ell: g\to h\) is the remainder r: \(f\to h\) in the division of k(l) by h. If G is the Galois group of the separable closure of F, than the category \({\mathbb{C}}otop(F)\) (resp. \({\mathbb{P}}ol(F))\) is proved to be equivalent to the dual of the category of finite discrete (resp. finite discrete transitive) G-sets. Many properties of separable polynomials are derived from this duality. Then by using the Grothendieck ring construction, categories are replaced by commutative rings. This leads to the definition of the Burnside ring of a field, which has Burnside rings of finite groups as its building blocks. Then commutative rings are replaced by rational algebras. All valuations on the Burnside algebra are described, and it is proved that any irreducible polynomial is completely determined by its values under these valuations.