# How to prove that the sum and product of two algebraic numbers is algebraic? [duplicate]

Suppose $E/F$ is a field extension and $\alpha, \beta \in E$ are algebraic over $F$. Then it is not too hard to see that when $\alpha$ is nonzero, $1/\alpha$ is also algebraic. If $a_0 + a_1\alpha + \cdots + a_n \alpha^n = 0$, then dividing by $\alpha^{n}$ gives $$a_0\frac{1}{\alpha^n} + a_1\frac{1}{\alpha^{n-1}} + \cdots + a_n = 0.$$

Is there a similar elementary way to show that $\alpha + \beta$ and $\alpha \beta$ are also algebraic (i.e. finding an explicit formula for a polynomial that has $\alpha + \beta$ or $\alpha\beta$ as its root)?

The only proof I know for this fact is the one where you show that $F(\alpha, \beta) / F$ is a finite field extension and thus an algebraic extension.

Okay, I’m giving a second answer because this one is clearly distinct from the first one. Recall that finding a polynomial over which $\alpha+\beta$ or $\alpha \beta$ is a root of $p(x) \in F[x]$ is equivalent to finding the eigenvalue of a square matrix over $F$ (living in some algebraic extension of $F$), since you can link the polynomial $p(x)$ to the companion matrix $C(p(x))$ which has precisely characteristic polynomial $p(x)$, hence the eigenvalues of the companion matrix are the roots of $p(x)$.

If $\alpha$ is an eigenvalue of $A$ with eigenvector $x \in V$ and $\beta$ is an eigenvalue of $B$ with eigenvector $y \in W$, then using the tensor product of $V$ and $W$, namely $V \otimes W$, we can compute
$$(A \otimes I + I \otimes B)(x \otimes y) = (Ax \otimes y) + (x \otimes By) = (\alpha x \otimes y) + (x \otimes \beta y) = (\alpha + \beta) (x \otimes y)$$
so that $\alpha + \beta$ is the eigenvalue of $A \otimes I + I \otimes B$. Also,
$$(A \otimes B)(x \otimes y) = (Ax \otimes By) = (\alpha x \otimes \beta y) = \alpha \beta (x \otimes y)$$
hence $\alpha \beta$ is the eigenvalue of the matrix $A \otimes B$. If you want explicit expressions for the polynomials you are looking for, you can just compute the characteristic polynomial of the tensor products.

Hope that helps,