Separable polynomial

In mathematics, a polynomial P(X) over a given field K is separable if its roots are distinct in an algebraic closure of K, that is, the number of distinct roots is equal to the degree of the polynomial.^[1]

This concept is closely related to square-free polynomial. If K is a perfect field then the two concepts coincide. In general, P(X) is separable if and only if it is square-free over any field that contains K, which holds if and only if P(X) is coprime to its formal derivative D P(X).