Find All Prime Polynomials

Find All Prime Polynomials
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Problem : Find all polynomials $f(x)\in \mathbb{Z}[x]$ such that there exists a natural $N$, such that for any prime $p>N$, $|f(p)|$ is also a prime.

What I found so far : It is obvious that $f(x)$ is irreducible. Few such polynomials are,

  • $f(x)\equiv \pm p$ for some prime $p$.
  • $f(x)=\pm x$

But after this I am unable to prove or disprove the existent of any other such polynomials.

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1 Answer

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All constant solutions are among your findings, obviously. So assume $f$ is not constant. If $f$ is a solution, then so is $-f$; hence let us assume $f(x)\to+\infty$ as $x\to+\infty$. We may make $N$ larger such that all (real) roots of $f(x)$ as well as $f'(x)$ are $<N$. Then $f$ is positive and injective on $[N,\infty)$.

If $f(p)=p$ for all primes $p>N$, we must have $f(x)=x$ (because $f(x)-x$ has infinitely many roots), which you already found. So let $p>N$ be a prime with $q=f(p)\ne p$. Note that $f(x)\bmod q$ depends only on $x\bmod q$. Hence for every prime $p'$ with $p'>N$ and $p'\equiv p\pmod q$, we have $q\mid f(p')$, but equality only for $p'=p$. By Dirichlet, infinitely many primes $p'\equiv p\pmod q$ exist (this is where we use $p\ne q$), and some of these infinitely many are $>N$, thus showing $f(p')$ is not prime and $f$ does not have the property.

We conclude that the solutions you found are all solutions.


Alternate, somewhat more direct approach:

Let $f$ and $N$ as in the problem statement. Consider a prime $p>N$ and let $q=|f(p)|$.

If $q\ne p$, they are co-prime and by Dirichlet, there exist infinitely many primes $p'\equiv p\pmod q$. For those (still infinitely many) such $p'$ that are $>N$, we conclude $f(p')\equiv f(p)\equiv 0\pmod q$ and hence $f(p')=\pm q$. Then one of the two polynomials $f(x)-q$, $f(x)+q$ has infinitely many roots, hence is identically $0$, and ultimately $$ f(x)=\pm q.$$ Remains the case that $|f(p)|=p$ for all primes $p>N$. Then one of the two polynomials $f(x)-x$, $f(x)+x$ has infinitely many roots, hence is identically $0$, and ultimately $$ f(x)=\pm x.$$

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David Miller
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David Miller

David Miller brings 15 years of experience in global economics, personal finance strategy, and market dynamics. He specializes in turning complex economic trends into actionable insights for everyday readers.