English

Short Salem polynomials

Number Theory 2026-05-20 v1

Abstract

We give a complete classification of all Salem polynomials of length 5. For length 6 we show that all but finitely many Salem polynomials lie in one of 12 infinite families, and subject to Lehmer's Conjecture we give a complete list of the 126 exceptions. We provide a table of short polynomials for all known Salem numbers below the smallest Pisot number.

Keywords

Cite

@article{arxiv.2605.19013,
  title  = {Short Salem polynomials},
  author = {James McKee and Chris Smyth},
  journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:2605.19013},
  year   = {2026}
}

Comments

21 pages, 4 tables