The conjecture on three rational linear factors of trinomials

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Let n≥4n\geq 4, and consider trinomials xn+Ax+Bx^n+A x+B defined over Q\mathbb{Q}. Their reducibility type records the degrees of their irreducible factors over Q\mathbb{Q}; in particular, type (1,1,1,n−3)(1,1,1,n-3) means that they have three distinct rational roots and one remaining factor of degree n−3n-3.

Three-linear-factor conjecture. There are no trinomials xn+Ax+Bx^n+A x+B defined over Q\mathbb{Q} with reducibility type (1,1,1,n−3)(1,1,1,n-3).

For odd nn, the claim is connected with the rational points on the curve defined by Gn(p,q,r)=0G_n(p,q,r)=0, whose genus is (n−4)(n−3)/2(n-4)(n-3)/2; the authors state that they do not know how to prove that its trivial points are complete. The even-nn case is ruled out by Descartes' rule of signs, so the conjectural content concerns the remaining cases.

References

Primary source

Andrew Bremner and Maciej Ulas, “On the reducibility type of trinomials”, arXiv:1112.4267 (2011).

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