Published online by Cambridge University Press: 14 November 2011
We consider the following problem: Let P be a monic polynomial of degree n with complex coefficients. What can be the maximum ‘size’ of a monic divisor Q of P? Here the size of a polynomial R is the maximum ||R|| of the moduli of its values on the unit circle. In 1991, B. Beauzamy proved that there exists a divisor Q with ||Q|| ≧ e∈n−1, ∈ = 0.0019, when all the roots of P belong to the unit circle. Using a very recent result of D. Boyd, we obtain a general result which, in the same case, gives ||Q||≧βn; here β = 1.38135 … is optimal.