Explicit Hilbert Irreducibility

Abstract

Let $P(T,X)$ be an irreducible polynomial in two variables with rational coefficients. It follows from Hilbert's Irreducibility Theorem that for most rational numbers $t$ the specialized polynomial $P(t,X)$ is irreducible and has the same Galois group as $P$. We discuss here a method for obtaining an explicit description of the set of exceptional numbers $t$, i.e., those for which $P(t,X)$ is either reducible or has a different Galois group than $P$. To illustrate the method we determine the exceptional specializations of two polynomials of degrees four and six.