Directed evaluation

Let K be a fixed effective field. The most straightforward approach to compute with an element in the algebraic closure of K is to compute modulo its minimal polynomial. The determination of a minimal polynomial from an arbitrary annihilator requires an algorithm for polynomial factorization over K. Unfortunately, such algorithms do not exist over generic effective fields. They do exist over fields that are explicitly generated over their prime sub-field, but they are often expensive. The dynamic evaluation paradigm, introduced by Duval and collaborators in the eighties, offers an alternative algorithmic solution for computations in the algebraic closure of K. This approach does not require an algorithm for polynomial factorization, but it still suffers from a non-trivial overhead due to suboptimal recomputations. For the first time, we design another paradigm, called directed evaluation, which combines the conceptual advantages of dynamic evaluation with a good worst case complexity bound.