Polynomials with PSL(2) monodromy

Authors Michael E. Zieve, Robert Guralnick

Publication date 29 October 2010

Published in Annals of Mathematics. Second Series (Search for Journal in Brave)

Full work available at URL https://arxiv.org/abs/0707.1835

Polynomials in general fields (irreducibility, etc.) (12E05) Transcendental field extensions (12F20)

Abstract: Let K be a field of characteristic p>0, and let q be a power of p. We determine all polynomials f in K[t]K[t^p] of degree q(q-1)/2 such that the Galois group of f(t)-u over K(u) has a transitive normal subgroup isomorphic to PSL_2(q), subject to a certain ramification hypothesis. As a consequence, we describe all polynomials f in K[t], of degree not a power of p, such that f is functionally indecomposable over K but f decomposes over an extension of K. Moreover, except for one ramification setup (which is treated in the companion paper arxiv:0707.1837), we describe all indecomposable polynomials f in K[t] of non-p-power degree which are exceptional, in the sense that x-y is the only absolutely irreducible factor of f(x)-f(y) which lies in K[x,y]. It is known that, when K is finite, a polynomial f is exceptional if and only if it induces a bijection on infinitely many finite extensions of K.

Review text

Let \({\mathcal C}\) and \({\mathcal D}\) be smooth, projective, geometrically irreducible curves over a field \(k\) of characteristic \(p\geq 0\), and let \(f: {\mathcal C}\to{\mathcal D}\) be a separable morphism over \(k\) of degree \(d\geq 2\). Let \(k({\mathcal C})/k({\mathcal D})\) be the separable field extension corresponding to \(f\), and let \(E\) denotes its Galois closure. The arithmetic monodromy group of \(f\) is the group \(\text{Gal}(E/k({\mathcal D}))\). Letting \(l\) denote the algebraic closure of \(k\) in \(E\), the geometric monodromy group of \(f\) is \(\text{Gal}(E/l({\mathcal D}))\). A fundamental problem is to determine the possibilities for the monodromy groups and the ramification of such maps \(f\), where \({\mathcal D}\) is fixed and \({\mathcal C}\) or \(f\) varies. In this paper, the authors determine all maps \(f\) having certain monodromy groups, subject to a constraint on the ramification. More explicitly, let \(q\) be a power of \(p\) and let \(u\) be transcendental over \(k\). The authors determine all polynomials \(f(X)\in k[X]\setminus k[X^p]\) of degree \(q(q- 1)/2\) for which the Galois group of \(f(X)- u\) over \(k(u)\) has a transitive normal subgroup isomorphic to \(\text{PSL}_2(q)\), subject to a certain ramification hypothesis. As a consequence, they describe all polynomials \(f\in k[X]\) such that the degree of \(f\) is not a power of \(p\) and \(f\) is functionally indecomposable over \(k\) but decomposes over an extension of \(k\). Moreover, except for one ramification configuration, they describe all indecomposable \(f\in k[X]\) such that \(\deg(f)\) is not a power of \(p\) and \(f\) is exceptional in the sense of the previous review [Ann. Math. (2) 172, No. 2, 1361--1390 (2010; Zbl 1214.12003)].

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