Definition:Galois Theory

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Definition

Galois theory is a subfield of abstract algebra which reduces the study of field extensions to the study of the associated Galois groups.

Hence it provides a connection between field theory and group theory.


Also see

  • Results about Galois theory can be found here.


Source of Name

This entry was named for Évariste Galois.


Historical Note

The discipline of Galois theory dates back as far as $1600$ BCE, when the mathematicians of ancient Babylon worked out how to solve the quadratic equation.

In the $16$th century, the technique leaked out into the public that the cubic equation was also soluble.

Soon after that, Lodovico Ferrari extended this method to show how to solve the quartic.

The quintic remained unsolved until the early $19$th century, at which point Paolo Ruffini and Niels Henrik Abel proved it insoluble.

At around the same time, Évariste Galois produced his own approach to the problem, whose elegance initiated the field of study known now as Galois theory.


Sources