6.2 Minimal Polynomials and Roots

Minimal polynomials and roots are key to understanding cyclic codes. They help us grasp how polynomials behave in finite fields, which is crucial for encoding and decoding messages in these codes.

Irreducible polynomials, primitive elements, and roots of unity play vital roles in cyclic codes. These concepts allow us to generate and analyze the structure of cyclic codes, making them powerful tools for error correction.

Minimal Polynomials and Irreducibility

Minimal Polynomials

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• Minimal polynomial of an element $\alpha$ over a field $F$ is the monic polynomial $m(x)$ of lowest degree such that $m(\alpha) = 0$
• Minimal polynomial is unique and irreducible over $F$
  • If $f(x)$ is another polynomial with $f(\alpha) = 0$, then $m(x)$ divides $f(x)$
• Degree of the minimal polynomial of $\alpha$ is equal to the degree of the extension field $F(\alpha)$ over $F$
• Minimal polynomial of a primitive element generates the entire extension field

Irreducible Polynomials

• Irreducible polynomial cannot be factored into lower-degree polynomials over the given field
  • Analogous to prime numbers in integer factorization
• Irreducibility depends on the field (polynomial may be irreducible over $\mathbb{Q}$ but reducible over $\mathbb{R}$)
• Eisenstein's criterion is a sufficient condition for irreducibility over $\mathbb{Q}$
  • If $f(x) = a_nx^n + a_{n-1}x^{n-1} + \cdots + a_0$ with integer coefficients, $p$ is a prime dividing each $a_i$ for $i < n$, $p$ does not divide $a_n$, and $p^2$ does not divide $a_0$, then $f(x)$ is irreducible over $\mathbb{Q}$

Primitive Elements and Roots of Unity

• Primitive element of a finite field $\mathbb{F}_q$ is a generator of the multiplicative group $\mathbb{F}_q^*$
  • Powers of a primitive element generate all non-zero elements of the field
• Roots of unity are complex numbers that yield 1 when raised to some power
  • $n$-th roots of unity are solutions to the equation $x^n = 1$
  • Primitive $n$-th root of unity $\zeta_n$ generates all $n$-th roots of unity as powers $\zeta_n^k$ for $0 \leq k < n$
• Cyclotomic polynomials $\Phi_n(x)$ have primitive $n$-th roots of unity as their roots and are irreducible over $\mathbb{Q}$

Field Extensions and Splitting Fields

Field Extensions

• Field extension $K$ of a field $F$ is a field containing $F$ as a subfield
  • $F(\alpha)$ is the smallest field extension of $F$ containing $\alpha$, obtained by adjoining $\alpha$ to $F$
• Degree of a field extension $[K:F]$ is the dimension of $K$ as a vector space over $F$
  • Finite extension if the degree is finite, otherwise an infinite extension
• Tower law for field extensions: if $F \subseteq K \subseteq L$, then $[L:F] = [L:K][K:F]$
• Algebraic extension if every element of $K$ is a root of some polynomial with coefficients in $F$
  • $F(\alpha)$ is always an algebraic extension of $F$

Splitting Fields

• Splitting field of a polynomial $f(x)$ over $F$ is the smallest field extension of $F$ containing all roots of $f(x)$
  • Obtained by adjoining all roots of $f(x)$ to $F$
• Splitting field is unique up to isomorphism
• Galois group of $f(x)$ over $F$ is the group of automorphisms of the splitting field that fix $F$
  • Provides a connection between field theory and group theory

Conjugates and Algebraic Closure

• Conjugates of an element $\alpha$ are the roots of its minimal polynomial
  • Conjugates are obtained by applying automorphisms of the splitting field to $\alpha$
• Algebraic closure of a field $F$ is an algebraic extension of $F$ in which every polynomial with coefficients in $F$ splits completely
  • Algebraically closed fields (complex numbers $\mathbb{C}$, algebraic closure of finite fields)
• Fundamental theorem of algebra: every non-constant polynomial with complex coefficients has a root in $\mathbb{C}$

Cyclotomic Cosets

Definition and Properties

• Cyclotomic coset of an integer $i$ modulo $n$ is the set $C_i = \{i, ip, ip^2, \ldots, ip^{r-1}\}$, where $p$ is a prime and $r$ is the smallest positive integer such that $ip^r \equiv i \pmod{n}$
  • Elements of $C_i$ are obtained by repeatedly multiplying $i$ by $p$ modulo $n$
• Cyclotomic cosets partition the set of integers modulo $n$ into disjoint subsets
  • Each integer belongs to exactly one cyclotomic coset
• Size of a cyclotomic coset divides the order of $p$ modulo $n$
  • If $p$ is a primitive root modulo $n$, then there is only one cyclotomic coset containing all integers modulo $n$

Applications in Coding Theory

• Cyclotomic cosets are used to determine the roots of generator polynomials for cyclic codes
  • Roots are powers of a primitive element, and their exponents form a union of cyclotomic cosets
• Cyclotomic cosets help identify equivalent cyclic codes
  • Cyclic codes with the same set of cyclotomic cosets as roots have the same properties (dimension, minimum distance)
• Cyclotomic cosets are used in the construction of BCH codes and Reed-Solomon codes
  • Consecutive powers of a primitive element are chosen as roots based on cyclotomic cosets
• Determining the minimum distance of a cyclic code involves analyzing the cyclotomic cosets of its roots
  • BCH bound provides a lower bound on the minimum distance based on the number of consecutive cyclotomic cosets