Math55a (Fall 2011) Yum-Tong Siu 1

FROM SOLVING CUBIC AND QUARTIC EQUATIONS

TO INTRODUCTION OF GROUPS
These notes start with the discussion of classical formulas for solving
quadratic, cubic, and quartic equations and explain the historic role which
groups play in the study of formulas for solving polynomial equations. We
will consider polynomial equations with coecients in C, but the discussion
works also for Q and Q with some obvious modications. Before talking
about the role of groups, we derive here the classical formulas for solving
quadratic, cubic, and quartic equations.
Quadratic Equation. We rst look at the well-known formula for solving the
quadratic equation obtained by completion of squares. Given a quadratic
equation ax
2
+bx+c = 0, we can complete the square on the right-hand side
by writing
ax
2
+ bx + c = a
_
x +
b
2a
_
2

b
2
4ac
4a
so that the two roots x
1
, x
2
of ax
2
+ bx + c = 0 can be obtained from
a
_
x +
b
2a
_
2
=
b
2
4ac
4a
,
giving
x
1
, x
2
=
b

b
2
4ac
2a
.
The use of the completion of squares seems to be a very ingenious trick.
Actually a more straightforward way of obtaining the formula is to use a
new variable t which is related to the original variable x by translation with
x = t + for some to be determined so that the quadratic equation ax
2
+
bx+c = 0 in terms of the new variable t would not have the degree-one term.
This is done by expanding
ax
2
+ bx + c = a (t + )
2
+ b (t + ) + c = at
2
+ 2at + a
2
+ bt + b + c
so that we can set 2a + b = 0, which is the same as =
b
2a
. With this
choice of ,
ax
2
+ bx + c = at
2
+ a
2
+ b + c = at
2
+
b
2
4a

b
2
2a
+ c = at
2

b
2
4ac
4a
,
Math55a (Fall 2011) Yum-Tong Siu 2
giving again, upon expressing t in terms of x, the same formula
ax
2
+ bx + c = a
_
x +
b
2a
_
2

b
2
4ac
4a
,
which we obtained earlier by the seemingly very ingenious trick of completion
of squares.
Cubic Equation. Next we look at the classical solution for solving the cubic
equation ax
3
+ bx
2
+ cx + d = 0. We can use the change of variables by
translation x = t + to get rid of the second-highest-degree term with a
judicious choice of the number , just as in the case of the quadratic equation.
ax
3
+ bx
2
+ cx + d = a (t + )
3
+ b (t + )
2
+ c (t + ) + d
= a
_
t
3
+ 3t
2
+ 3
2
t +
3
_
+ b
_
t
2
+ 2t +
2
_
+ c (t + ) + d
= at
3
+ (3a + b) t
2
+
_
3a
2
+ 2b + c
_
t +
_
a
3
+ b
2
+ c + d
_
.
Note that this formula is the same as the Taylor expansion of the function
ax
3
+ bx
2
+ cx + d in terms of t = x so that
(i) the 0-degree term a
3
+b
2
+c +d is the value of the function ax
3
+
bx
2
+ cx + d at x =
(ii) the coecient of t is the value of the rst derivative 3a
2
+ 2b + c of
the function ax
3
+ bx
2
+ cx + d at x = ,
(iii) the coecient 3a +b of t
2
is
1
2!
times the value of the second derivative
of the function ax
3
+ bx
2
+ cx + d at x = , and
(iv) the coecient a of t
3
is
1
3!
times the value of the third derivative of the
function ax
3
+ bx
2
+ cx + d at x = .
We should set 3a + b = 0 so that =
b
3a
. Dividing by a, we end up with
t
3
+ pt + q = 0,
where
p =
3a
2
+ 2b + c
a
=
3a
_

b
3a
_
2
+ 2b
_

b
3a
_
+ c
a
,
Math55a (Fall 2011) Yum-Tong Siu 3
q =
a
3
+ b
2
+ c + d
a
=
a
_

b
3a
_
3
+ b
_

b
3a
_
2
+ c
_

b
3a
_
+ d
a
.
Unlike the case of the quadratic equation, for the cubic equation this special
form t
3
+ pt + q = 0 is not of much help. So far for both the quadratic
equation and the cubic equation the tool which we have introduced is the
change of variable by translation. This tool up to this point has been used
to eliminate the second-highest-order term. For the cubic equation this may
not be the best way to utilize this tool of change of variable by translation.
It turns out that the best way to use this tool is to trade the vanishing of
the second-highest-order term for some form of symmetry. We start out with
the special form t
3
+pt +q = 0 and make a change of variable by translation
with the amount of translation to be determined. So we set t = u+v, where
u is the new variable to replace t and v is the amount of translation to be
determined. Plugging t = u + v into t
3
+ pt + q = 0, we get
t
3
+pt +q = (u + v)
3
+p (u + v) +q = u
3
+3u
2
v +3uv
2
+v
3
+p (u + v) +q,
which we rewrite as
t
3
+ pt + q =
_
u
3
+ v
3
_
+ (u + v) (3uv + p) + q
to highlight the symmetric functions u + v, uv, u
3
+ v
3
in the two variables
of degrees 1, 2, and 3 respectively.
We are going to choose the amount of translation u so that the resulting
equation is as simple as possible (i.e., with as many vanishing terms as
possible) and at the same time retain the symmetry in u and v. For that
purpose we set 3uv + p = 0 and get the following two equations
()
_
_
_
u
3
+ v
3
+ q = 0,
3uv + p = 0
in the two unknowns u and v. These two equations are symmetric in u
and v. This is what we mean by using this tool of change of variable by
translation to trade the vanishing of the second-highest-order term for some
form of symmetry. This trade holds the key to the derivation of the classical
formula for the solution of the cubic equation.
Math55a (Fall 2011) Yum-Tong Siu 4
We now take the cube of the second equation of (*) to get
()
_
_
_
u
3
+ v
3
+ q = 0,
u
3
v
3
=
p
3
27
= 0
so that from the data on the product and sum of the two unknowns u
3
and
v
3
we can solve them from the quadratic equation
X
2
+ qX
p
3
27
= 0
to get
u
3
, v
3
=
q
2

q
2
4
+
p
3
27
.
By taking the cubic roots of u
3
, v
3
we get nine possible solutions, but using
the second equation 3uv + p = 0 of () we narrow the number down to only
3, because a choice of a cubic root of u
3
forces us to choose a cubic root of
v
3
by 3uv + p = 0. The nal formula for the three roots of x are u + v with
u =
3

q
2
+

q
2
4
+
p
3
27
,
v =
3

q
2

q
2
4
+
p
3
27
,
subject to 3uv +p = 0 in the choice of the cubic roots of u
3
and v
3
. In other
words,
x
1
, x
2
, x
3
=
3

q
2
+

q
2
4
+
p
3
27
+
p
3
3

q
2
+

q
2
4
+
p
3
27
.
Our later discussion for the solution of a polynomial equation of degree
n will be formulated in terms of solving the equation
x
n

1
x
n1
+
2
x
n2
+ + (1)
n1

n1
x + (1)
n

n
= 0
to get the roots x
1
, , x
n
when
1
, ,
n
are the n elementary symmetric
functions of x
1
, , x
n
. In order to t the classical formula for the solution
Math55a (Fall 2011) Yum-Tong Siu 5
of the cubic equation into the general discussion of such a formulation, we
rewrite as cubic equation ax
3
+bx
2
+cx+d = 0 as x
3

1
x
2
+
2
x
3
= 0.
In other words, a = 1, b =
1
, c =
2
, and d =
3
. Thus we have the
formula
_

_
p =

2
1
3
+
2
q =
2
3
1
27
+

1

2
3

3
.
In terms of
1
,
2
,
3
the three roots x
1
, x
2
, x
3
of x
3

1
x
2
+
2
x
3
= 0
are given by
_
_

1
2
_

2
3
1
27
+

1

2
3

3
_
+

1
4
_

2
3
1
27
+

1

2
3

3
_
2
+
1
27
_

2
1
3
+
2
_
3
_
_
1
3
+
p
3
_
_

1
2
_

2
3
1
27
+

1

2
3

3
_
+

1
4
_

2
3
1
27
+

1

2
3

3
_
2
+
1
27
_

2
1
3
+
2
_
3
_
_

1
3
.
Quartic Equation. Now we look at the classical solution for solving the quartic
equation x
4

1
x
3
+
2
x
2

3
x+
4
= 0, where
1
,
2
,
3
,
4
are the elementary
symmetric functions of its roots x
1
, x
2
, x
3
, x
4
. In order to keep track of the
action of permutations on the four roots {x
1
, x
2
, x
3
, x
4
}, we introduce the
following linear change of variables
_

_
y
0
=
1
2
(x
1
+ x
2
+ x
3
+ x
4
)
y
1
=
1
2
(x
1
x
2
+ x
3
x
4
)
y
2
=
1
2
(x
1
+ x
2
x
3
x
4
)
y
3
=
1
2
(x
1
x
2
x
3
+ x
4
) .
The reason for this change of variables is that when x
1
, x
2
, x
3
, x
4
is permuted,
a new variable y
j
(for j = 1, 2, 3) is changed to y
k
for some k = 1, 2, 3,
because each of the last three new variables y
1
, y
2
, y
3
is dened by partitioning
the four old variables x
1
, x
2
, x
3
, x
4
into two pairs and use +1 as the coecient
for one of the two pairs and use 1 as the coecient for the other pair. This
property of the new variables y
0
, y
1
, y
2
, y
3
makes it very easy to keep track of
which monomials (y
0
)
j
0
(y
1
)
j
1
(y
2
)
j
2
(y
3
)
j
3
are invariant under a given subset
Math55a (Fall 2011) Yum-Tong Siu 6
of the set of all permutations of {x
1
, x
2
, x
3
, x
4
}. The reason why we use the
coecient
1
2
in the denition of the new variables is that when the linear
change of variables is put into a matrix form
_
_
_
_
y
0
y
1
y
2
y
3
_
_
_
_
= A
_
_
_
_
x
1
x
2
x
3
x
4
_
_
_
_
,
where A is the 4 4 matrix
1
2
_
_
_
_
1 1 1 1
1 1 1 1
1 1 1 1
1 1 1 1
_
_
_
_
,
the matrix A is symmetric with A
2
equal to the identity matrix. In other
words, the matrix A is an orthogonal matrix.
The monomials (y
1
)
2
, (y
2
)
2
, (y
3
)
2
are permutated among themselves by
any permutation of {x
1
, x
2
, x
3
, x
4
}. Let
1
,
2
,
3
be the three elementary sym-
metric functions of (y
1
)
2
, (y
2
)
2
, (y
3
)
2
. Then
1
,
2
,
3
are invariant under any
permutation of {x
1
, x
2
, x
3
, x
4
} and therefore can be explicitly expressed poly-
nomials of the elementary symmetric functions
1
,
2
,
3
,
4
of x
1
, x
2
, x
3
, x
4
.
Actually these polynomials are independent of
1
by degree considerations,
but this point is not important to our discussion. By the formula for solving
cubic equations, we can express (y
1
)
2
, (y
2
)
2
, (y
3
)
2
in terms of
1
,
2
,
3
which
in turn are polynomials of
1
,
2
,
3
,
4
. By taking square roots, we have
formulas for y
1
, y
2
, y
3
in terms of
1
,
2
,
3
,
4
. Since y
0
=
1
2

1
, we can now
obtain x
1
, x
2
, x
3
, x
4
in terms of y
1
, y
2
, y
3
, y
4
. This concludes our derivation of
the formula to solve a quartic equation.
Schematics for Solving Polynomial Equations. We now discuss the solution of
the polynomial equation
x
n

1
x
n1
+
2
x
n2
+ + (1)
n1

n1
x + (1)
n

n
= 0,
where the coecients
1
, ,
n
are the n elementary symmetric functions
of its n roots x
1
, , x
n
. The rule for the formula of the solution is that only
rational functions and radicals are allowed in the formula. The formula ex-
presses x
1
, , x
n
in terms of its elementary symmetric functions
1
, ,
n
Math55a (Fall 2011) Yum-Tong Siu 7
by using a nite number of steps, each of which is either the formation of
rational functions or the formation of radicals. What we start out with is
the functions
1
, ,
n
of the variables x
1
, , x
n
, each of which is fully
symmetric under the set of all permutations of {x
1
, , x
n
}. The nal re-
sult is x
1
, , x
n
, each of which possesses no symmetry at all with respect
to the set of all permutations of {x
1
, , x
n
}. In between each step yields
some functions of x
1
, , x
n
, each of which may be partially symmetric with
respect to the permutations of x
1
, , x
n
, that is, invariant under a certain
subset of the set of all permutations of x
1
, , x
n
. We will discuss about the
use of such partial symmetries.
The schematics for the formula of solving a polynomial equation are as
follows. Let
(0)
1
, ,
(0)
m
0
be
1
, ,
n
. We allow two kinds of processes.
One is the use of rational functions and the other is the use of radicals.
From
(0)
1
, ,
(0)
m
0
we use one of the two processes to get another set of
rational functions
(1)
1
, ,
(1)
m
1
of x
1
, , x
n
. Then in the next step, from

(1)
1
, ,
(1)
m
1
we use one of the two processes to get another set of rational
functions
(2)
1
, ,
(2)
m
2
of x
1
, , x
n
. We keep on doing this until we reach
the nal step where the functions
()
1
, ,
()
m

are simply x
1
, , x
n
. We
represent this in the following diagram.

1
, ,
n

(1)
1
, ,
(1)
m
1

(2)
1
, ,
(2)
m
2

(1)
1
, ,
(1)
m
1

x
1
, , x
n
Math55a (Fall 2011) Yum-Tong Siu 8
When we go from
(j)
1
, ,
(j)
m
j
to
(j+1)
1
, ,
(j+1)
m
j+1
in

(j)
1
, ,
(j)
m
j

(j+1)
1
, ,
(j+1)
m
j+1
we use only one of the two kinds of processes.
Use of Partial Symmetries. We are using two processes in the formula of
solving polynomial equations. One is the formation of rational functions and
the other is the formation of radicals. We are going to change our schematics
by suppress the processes involving only the formation of rational functions.
Let F (x
1
, , x
n
) be the set of all rational functions of x
1
, , x
n
with coef-
cients in F, where F is C. For
1
, ,
m
F (x
1
, , x
n
) let F (
1
, ,
m
)
be the subset of F (x
1
, , x
n
) consisting of all elements which can be written
as rational functions of
1
, ,
m
. We now redo our schematics as follows.
F (
1
, ,
n
) = F
_

(0)
1
, ,
(0)
m
0
_

F
_

(1)
1
, ,
(1)
m
1
_

F
_

(2)
1
, ,
(2)
m
2
_

F
_

(1)
1
, ,
(1)
m
1
_

F (x
1
, , x
n
) = F
_

()
1
, ,
()
m

_
where
()
j
is a rational function of x
1
, , x
n
(for 1 m

) and
_

()
j
_

,j
belongs to F
_

(1)
1
, ,
(1)
m
1
_
for some positive integer
,j
. Note that
Math55a (Fall 2011) Yum-Tong Siu 9

,j
= 1 is allowed. The process of the formation of rational functions is in-
corporated into the use of the set F
_

()
1
, ,
()
m

_
of all rational functional
functions of
()
1
, ,
()
m

. The process of formation of radicals is expressed

by
_

()
j
_

,j
F
_

(1)
1
, ,
(1)
m
1
_
for some positive integer
,j
It turns out that in writing down the schematics for the classical formulas
for the roots of the cubic and quartic equations the set F
_

(1)
1
, ,
(1)
m
1
_
is equal to the subset of F (x
1
, , x
n
) consisting of all elements which are
invariant under a certain subset E of the set S
n
of all permutations of the n
elements {x
1
, , x
n
). We introduce the notation
F
_

()
1
, ,
()
m

_
= F (x
1
, , x
n
)
E
to express this fact. The set S
n
of all permutations of the n elements
{x
1
, , x
n
) is the same as the set of all self-bijections of {x
1
, , x
n
). For
such bijections we have the law of composition of maps and we can take the
inverse of any such map and also we have the identity map. The associative
law holds when we compose maps. In general, when we have a set endowed
with a law of composition of its elements such that the associative law holds
and the inverse of every element and an identity element exit, we call such a
set a group. Any subset of a group which is closed under the law of compo-
sition is called a subgroup. The group S
n
is called the symmetric group on n
elements and is also called the permutation group on n elements. When we
have
F
_

()
1
, ,
()
m

_
= F (x
1
, , x
n
)
E
by replacing E by the smallest subgroup of S
n
containing E, we can assume
without loss of generality that E is a subgroup of S
n
. In the case of the
classical formulas for the roots of the cubic and quartic equations (and also
for the quadratic equation), we have
F
_

()
1
, ,
()
m

_
= F (x
1
, , x
n
)
G

for subgroups G

of S
n
with the inclusion relations
{1} = G

G
1
G
1
G
0
= S
n
Math55a (Fall 2011) Yum-Tong Siu 10
where {1} here denotes the group consisting of only one element which is
its identity element. Sometimes the group {1} of only one element is also
denoted simply by 1 (or 0 or {0} in conjunction with other groups which
are commutative, that is, satisfy the commutative law). We now describe
explicitly the subgroups
{1} = G

G
1
G
1
G
0
= S
n
used in the formulas for the roots of the quadratic, the cubic, and the quartic
equations.
Subgroups for Quadratic Equation. For the formula for the roots of the
quadratic equation we have = 1 and
{1} = G
1
G
0
= S
2
and
F (
1
,
2
)

F (x
1
, x
2
) = F
_

(1)
1
,
(1)
2
_
where

(1)
1
=
1
,
_

(1)
2
_
2
=
2
1
4
2
so that
1,1
= 1 and
1,2
= 2. The roots x
1
, x
2
are given by
x
1
, x
2
=

(1)
1

(1)
2
2
.
Subgroups for Cubic Equation. Let A
3
be the subgroup of S
3
consisting of all
permutations of {x
1
, x
2
, x
3
} with sign +1, that is, all cyclic permutations. In
general A
n
is the subgroup of S
n
consisting of all permutations of {x
1
, , x
n
}
with sign +1. The group A
n
is called the alternating group on n elements.
For the formula for the roots of the cubic equation we have = 2 and
{1} = G
2
G
1
G
0
= S
3
with G
1
= A
3
. Before we describe
()
j
and
,j
, we rst recall the following
notations
_

_
p =

2
1
3
+
2
q =
2
3
1
27
+

1

2
3

3
.
Math55a (Fall 2011) Yum-Tong Siu 11
from from the classical formula for solving the cubic equation. We would like
to introduce some new notations too. Let =
1
2
+

3
2
i so that is the cubic
root of unity satisfying
3
= 1. Let
_

_
y
1
= x
1
+ x
2
+ x
3
y
2
= x
1
+ x
2
+
2
x
3
y
3
= x
1
+
2
x
2
+ x
3
so that the eect of elements of S
3
sends {y
2
, y
3
} to
_

j
y
2
,
k
y
3
_
for some
0 j, k 2, making the tracking of the invariance of polynomials in y
1
, y
2
, y
3
rather simple. The monomial y
2
y
3
and the polynomials (y
2
)
3
+ (y
3
)
3
are
invariant under S
3
and can therefore be expressed in terms of
1
,
2
,
3
.
Explicitly the expressions are
_
_
_
y
2
y
3
= (
1
)
2
3
2
= 3p
(y
2
)
3
+ (y
3
)
3
= 2 (
1
)
3
9
1

2
+ 27
3
= 27q
so that
_
y
2
3
_
3
_
y
3
3
_
3
=
p
3
27
,
_
y
2
3
_
3
+
_
y
3
3
_
3
= q
which yields
_
y
2
3
_
3
,
_
y
3
3
_
3
=
q
2

q
2
4
+
p
3
27
.
as roots of the quadratic equation
X
2
+ qX
p
3
27
= 0.
We now can describe
()
j
and
,j
in
F (
1
,
2
,
3
)

F
_

(1)
1
,
(1)
2
,
(1)
3
,
(1)
4
_

F (x
1
, x
2
, x
3
) = F
_

(2)
1
,
(2)
2
,
(2)
3
_
Math55a (Fall 2011) Yum-Tong Siu 12
We dene

(1)
1
=
1
,
(1)
2
= q,
(1)
3
=

q
2
4
+
p
3
27
,
(1)
4
= p
so that

(1)
2
=
_
y
2
3
_
3
+
_
y
3
3
_
3
and
(1)
3
=
1
2
_
_
y
2
3
_
3

_
y
3
3
_
3
_
.
Note that the addition of
(1)
4
= p =
1
3
y
2
y
3
to F
_

(1)
1
,
(1)
2
,
(1)
3
,
(1)
4
_
is to make sure that F
_

(1)
1
,
(1)
2
,
(1)
3
,
(1)
4
_
contains enough elements of
F (x
1
, x
2
, x
3
) to make it equal to F (x
1
, x
2
, x
3
)
A
3
. Since
F (x
1
, x
2
, x
3
) = F (
1
, p, q) ,
it follows that we can use
1,1
=
1,2
=
1,4
= 1 and
1,3
= 2 with
_

(1)
3
_
2
=
q
2
4
+
p
3
27
F (
1
, p, q) = F (x
1
, x
2
, x
3
) .
Since
F (x
1
, x
2
, x
3
) = F (y
1
, y
2
, y
3
) ,
to nish the justication of the diagram as a description of the formula for
solving the cubic equation we need only observe that we can set
(2)
j
= y
j
for
j = 1, 2, 3 with

(2)
1
=
(1)
1
,
_

(2)
2
_
3
=
1
2

(1)
2
+
(1)
3
,
_

(2)
3
_
3
=
1
2

(1)
2

(1)
3
so that
2,1
= 1 and
2,2
=
2,3
= 3.
Subgroups for Quartic Equation. Let K
4
be the subgroup of S
4
consisting of
the four elements 1, (12) (34), (13) (24), (14) (23). It is called the Klein 4-
group, which is characterized abstractly as the group of 4 elements {1, a, b, c}
with the following law of composition.
a
2
= b
2
= c
2
= 1, ab = ba = c, bc = cb = a, ac = ca = b.
For the formula for the roots of the quartic equation we have = 3 and
{1} = G
3
G
2
G
1
G
0
= S
4
Math55a (Fall 2011) Yum-Tong Siu 13
with G
1
= A
4
and G
2
= K
4
. Before we describe
()
j
and
,j
, we rst recall
the following notations
_

_
y
0
=
1
2
(x
1
+ x
2
+ x
3
+ x
4
)
y
1
=
1
2
(x
1
x
2
+ x
3
x
4
)
y
2
=
1
2
(x
1
+ x
2
x
3
x
4
)
y
3
=
1
2
(x
1
x
2
x
3
+ x
4
) .
Let
1
,
2
,
3
be the three elementary symmetric functions of (y
1
)
2
, (y
2
)
2
, (y
3
)
2
.
That is,
_

1
= (y
1
)
2
+ (y
2
)
2
+ (y
3
)
2

2
= (y
1
)
2
(y
2
)
2
+ (y
1
)
2
(y
3
)
2
+ (y
2
)
2
(y
3
)
2

3
= (y
1
)
2
(y
2
)
2
(y
3
)
2
.
Embedded inside this description for solution of the quartic equation is the
formula for solving for (y
1
)
2
, (y
2
)
2
, (y
3
)
2
in terms of their three elementary
symmetric functions
1
,
2
,
3
. For this embedded formula for solution of the
cubic equation we need to introduce the corresponding denition
_

_
P =

2
1
3
+
2
Q =
2
3
1
27
+

1

2
3

3
,
which is obtained by replacing p, q,
1
,
2
,
3
respectively by P, Q,
1
,
2
,
3
in
the formula for p and q in terms of
1
,
2
,
3
. Let
_
_
_
z
1
= (y
1
)
2
+ (y
2
)
2
+
2
(y
3
)
2
z
2
= (y
1
)
2
+
2
(y
2
)
2
+ (y
3
)
2
where as before =
1
2
+

3
2
i is the cubic root of unity. We are now ready
Math55a (Fall 2011) Yum-Tong Siu 14
to describe
()
j
and
,j
in
F (
1
,
2
,
3
,
4
)

F
_

(1)
1
,
(1)
2
,
(1)
3
,
(1)
4
,
(1)
5
_

F
_

(2)
1
,
(2)
2
,
(2)
3
,
(2)
4
_

F (x
1
, x
2
, x
3
, x
4
) = F
_

(3)
1
,
(3)
2
,
(3)
3
,
(3)
4
_
First we remark that
1
,
2
,
3
F (
1
,
2
,
3
,
4
) due to their invariance under
S
4
. As a consequence P, Q F (
1
,
2
,
3
,
4
) from the explicit expressions
of P and Q in terms of
1
,
2
,
3
. In particular,
Q
2
4
+
P
3
27
F (
1
,
2
,
3
,
4
)
Again as above, from
_
_
_
z
1
z
2
= (
1
)
2
3
2
= 3P
(z
1
)
3
+ (z
2
)
3
= 2 (
1
)
3
9
1

2
+ 27
3
= 27Q
so that
_
z
1
3
_
3
_
z
2
3
_
3
=
P
3
27
,
_
z
1
3
_
3
+
_
z
2
3
_
3
= Q
which yields
_
z
1
3
_
3
,
_
z
2
3
_
3
=
Q
2

Q
2
4
+
P
3
27
.
as roots of the quadratic equation
X
2
+ QX
P
3
27
= 0.
We dene

(1)
1
=
1
,
(1)
2
=
1
,
(1)
3
= Q,
(1)
4
=

Q
2
4
+
P
3
27
,
(1)
5
= P
Math55a (Fall 2011) Yum-Tong Siu 15
so that

(1)
3
=
_
z
1
3
_
3
+
_
z
2
3
_
3
and
(1)
4
=
1
2
_
_
z
1
3
_
3

_
z
2
3
_
3
_
.
Note that the addition of
(1)
5
= P =
1
3
z
1
z
2
to F
_

(1)
1
,
(1)
2
,
(1)
3
,
(1)
4
,
(1)
5
_
is to make sure that F
_

(1)
1
,
(1)
2
,
(1)
3
,
(1)
4
,
(1)
5
_
contains enough elements of
F (x
1
, x
2
, x
3
, x
4
) to make it equal to F (x
1
, x
2
, x
3
, x
4
)
A
4
. We can use
1,1
=

1,2
=
1,3
=
1,5
= 1 and
1,4
= 2 with
_

(1)
4
_
2
=
Q
2
4
+
P
3
27
F (x
1
, x
2
, x
3
, x
4
) .
We dene

(2)
1
=
1
,
(2)
2
=
1
,
(2)
3
= z
1
,
(2)
4
= z
2
.
Since
_

(2)
3
_
3
=
1
2

(1)
3
+
(1)
4
,
_

(2)
4
_
3
=
1
2

(1)
3

(1)
4
,
it follows that we can use
2,1
=
2,2
= 1 and
2,3
=
2,4
= 3. Finally we let

(3)
1
= y
0
,
(3)
2
= y
1
,
(3)
3
= y
2
,
(3)
4
= y
3
and
3,1
= 1 and
3,2
=
3,3
=
3,4
= 2. Then F (x
1
, x
2
, x
3
, x
4
) = F (y
0
, y
1
, y
2
, y
3
)
and
_

(3)
j
_

3,j
is a C-linear combination of
1
, z
1
, z
2
and therefore belongs to
F
_

(2)
1
,
(2)
2
,
(2)
3
,
(2)
4
_
for j = 2, 3, 4.
Comparison of Subgroups for Cubic Equation to those for Quartic Equation.
For the cubic equation we have the chain of subgroups
{1} A
3
S
4
whereas for the quartic equation we have the chain of subgroups
{1} K
4
A
4
S
4
.
The relation between these two chains of subgroups can be geometrically il-
lustrated by the following picture of a quadrilateral with vertices P
1
, P
2
, P
3
, P
4
so that the line joining a pair of vertices intersects the line joining the re-
maining pair of vertices intersects at a point Q
j
with j = 1, 2, 3 from dierent
choices of the two disjoint pairs of vertices.
Math55a (Fall 2011) Yum-Tong Siu 16
Any permutation among the four vertices P
1
, P
2
, P
3
, P
4
results in a permu-
tation among the three points Q
1
, Q
2
, Q
3
. This denes a mapping S
4
S
3
which respects the laws of composition (and is known as a group homomor-
phism). The set of points of S
4
which is mapped to the identity of S
3
(that
is, the kernel of the group homomorphism) is the Klein 4-group K
4
. When
the group homomorphism S
4
S
3
is restricted to the subgroup A
4
of S
4
, we
get a homomorphism A
4
A
3
whose kernel is the Klein 4-group K
4
. The
sequence
{1} A
3
S
4
comes from the sequence
K
4
A
4
S
4
by taking the quotient by K
4
.