Squarefree values of polynomial discriminants I

Abstract

We determine the density of monic integer polynomials of given degree $n>1$ that have squarefree discriminant; in particular, we prove for the first time that the lower density of such polynomials is positive. Similarly, we prove that the density of monic integer polynomials $f(x)$, such that $f(x)$ is irreducible and $\mathbb{Z}[x]/(f(x))$ is the ring of integers in its fraction field, is positive, and is in fact given by $\zeta (2{)}^{-1}$. It also follows from our methods that there are $\gg X^{1/2+1/n}$ monogenic number fields of degree $n$ having associated Galois group $S_n$ and absolute discriminant less than $X$, and we conjecture that the exponent in this lower bound is optimal.

29 pages; to appear in Inventiones Math

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