Roots of polynomials and tangents of circles

Andrey Ryabichev, Konstantin Shcherbakov

Published 2024-01-22Version 1

Given a real cubic function $f(x)$ with three roots, take an equilateral triangle $ABC$, the projections of which vertices are the roots of $f(x)$. There is a folklore fact that the vertical lines through the extrema of $f(x)$ are tangent to the inscribed circle of $ABC$. We generalise this fact to a regular $n$-gon and the corresponding degree $n$ polynomial.