In mathematics, an algebraic field extension L/K is separable if it can be generated by adjoining to K a set each of whose elements is a root of a separable polynomial over K. Mathematics is the body of Knowledge and Academic discipline that studies such concepts as Quantity, Structure, Space and In Abstract algebra, a Field extension L / K is called algebraic if every element of L is algebraic over K, i In Mathematics, a Polynomial P ( X) is separable over a field K if all of its irreducible factors have Distinct In that case, each β in L has a separable minimal polynomial over K. In Linear algebra, the minimal polynomial of an n -by- n matrix A over a field F is the Monic polynomial
The condition of separability is central in Galois theory. In Mathematics, more specifically in Abstract algebra, Galois theory, named after Évariste Galois, provides a connection between field theory A perfect field is one for which all finite (equivalently, algebraic) extensions are separable. There exists a simple criterion for perfectness: a field F is perfect if and only if
Equivalently, the second condition says that the Frobenius endomorphism of F,
, is an automorphism. In Commutative algebra and field theory, which are branches of Mathematics, the Frobenius endomorphism (after Ferdinand Georg Frobenius) is a In Mathematics, an automorphism is an Isomorphism from a Mathematical object to itself
In particular, all fields of characteristic 0 and all finite fields are perfect. In Mathematics, the characteristic of a ring R, often denoted char( R) is defined to be the smallest number of times one must add the ring's In Abstract algebra, a finite field or Galois field (so named in honor of Évariste Galois) is a field that contains only finitely many elements This means that the separability condition can be assumed in many contexts. The effects of inseparability (necessarily for infinite K of characteristic p) can be seen in the primitive element theorem, and for the tensor product of fields. In Mathematics, more specifically in Field theory, the primitive element theorem provides a characterization of the Finite field extensions which are In Mathematics, the theory of fields in Abstract algebra lacks a Direct product: the direct product of two fields considered as a ring is
Given a finite extension L/K of fields, there is a largest subfield M of L containing K such that M is a separable extension of K. When M = K the extension L/K is called a purely inseparable extension. In general an algebraic extension factors as a purely inseparable extension of a separable extension, since the compositum of a family of separable extensions is again separable.
Purely inseparable extensions do occur for quite natural reasons, for example in algebraic geometry in characteristic p. Algebraic geometry is a branch of Mathematics which as the name suggests combines techniques of Abstract algebra, especially Commutative algebra, with If K is a field of characteristic p, and V an algebraic variety over K of dimension > 0, consider the function field K(V) and its subfield K(V)p of p-th powers. This article is about algebraic varieties For the term "a variety of algebras" and an explanation of the difference between a variety of algebras and an algebraic variety In Mathematics, more specifically in Abstract algebra, field extensions are the main object of study in field theory. This is always a purely inseparable extension. Such extensions occur as soon as one looks at multiplication by p on an elliptic curve over a finite field of characteristic p. In Mathematics, an elliptic curve is a smooth, projective Algebraic curve of genus one on which there is a specified point O
In dealing with non-perfect fields K, one introduces the separable closure Ksep inside an algebraic closure, which is the largest separable subextension of Kalg/K. In Mathematics, particularly Abstract algebra, an algebraic closure of a field K is an Algebraic extension of K that is Then Galois theory can be carried out inside Ksep.