Semi-Invariants of a Matrix and Covector

We prove the following theorem: let $\mathcal{M}_d$ denote the set of $d \times d$ matrices over an infinite field $K$, and let ${(K^d)^*}$ be the set of row vectors. Define an action of $\mathrm{SL}_d(K)$ on $X:= \mathcal{M}_d \oplus (K^d)^*$ by $$g \cdot (A,\phi) = (gAg^{-1}, \phi g^{-1}).$$ Then $K[X]^{\mathrm{SL}_d}$ is a polynomial ring, generated by the coefficients of the characteristic polynomial of $A$ and one further invariant, namely $\Delta(A,\phi):= \det(\phi,\phi A,\phi A^2,\ldots, \phi A^{d-1})^t.$ Our proof is entirely classical in nature, but we give an interpretation of the result and its proof in terms of quiver representation theory.