English

Linear relations of four conjugates of an algebraic number

Number Theory 2025-07-21 v1

Abstract

We characterize all algebraic numbers α\alpha of degree d{4,5,6,7}d\in\{4,5,6,7\} for which there exist four distinct algebraic conjugates α1\alpha_1, α2\alpha_2, α3\alpha_3, α4\alpha_4 of α\alpha satisfying the relation α1+α2=α3+α4\alpha_{1}+\alpha_{2}=\alpha_{3}+\alpha_{4}. In particular, we prove that an algebraic number α\alpha of degree 6 satisfies this relation with α1+α2Q\alpha_{1}+\alpha_{2}\notin\mathbb{Q} if and only if α\alpha is the sum of a quadratic and a cubic algebraic number. Moreover, we describe all possible Galois groups of the normal closure of Q(α)\mathbb{Q}(\alpha) for such algebraic numbers α\alpha. We also consider similar relations α1+α2+α3+α4=0\alpha_{1}+\alpha_{2}+\alpha_{3}+\alpha_{4}=0 and α1+α2+α3=α4\alpha_{1}+\alpha_{2}+\alpha_{3}=\alpha_{4} for algebraic numbers of degree up to 7.

Keywords

Cite

@article{arxiv.2507.13831,
  title  = {Linear relations of four conjugates of an algebraic number},
  author = {Ž. Baronėnas and P. Drungilas and J. Jankauskas},
  journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:2507.13831},
  year   = {2025}
}