abstract

COMPUTER SCIENCE/DISCRETE MATH I
Topic:	Composition of Rational Functions
Speaker:	Michael Zieve
Affiliation:	Member, School of Mathematics
Date:	Monday, September 29
Time/Room:	11:15am - 12:15pm/S-101

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I will discuss this problem: given rational functions f and g over a field K , determine whether there are nonconstant rational functions u and v over K such that u(f(x)) = v(g(x)) . An equivalent problem is to compute the intersection of two fields which lie between K and K(x) . This has been solved completely in case f and g are polynomials and K has characteristic zero; but it remains open in nearly all other cases. I will present a new algorithm for this problem.