Irreducible polynomials in Int(ℤ)

Abstract

In order to fully understand the factorization behavior of the ring Int(ℤ) = {f ∈ ℚ[x] | f (ℤ) ⊆ ℤ} of integer-valued polynomials on ℤ, it is crucial to identify the irreducible elements. Peruginelli [8] gives an algorithmic criterion to recognize whether an integer-valued polynomial g/d] is irreducible in the case where d is a square-free integer and g ∈ ℤ[x] has fixed divisor d. For integer-valued polynomials with arbitrary composite denominators, so far there is no algorithmic criterion known to recognize whether they are irreducible. We describe a computational method which allows us to recognize all irreduciblexc polynomials in Int(ℤ). We present some known facts, preliminary new results and open questions.