Galois groups over rational function fields and explicit Hilbert irreducibility

Let $P\in \mathbb{Q}[t,x]$ be a polynomial in two variables with rational coefficients, and let $G$ be the Galois group of $P$ over the field $\mathbb Q(t)$. It follows from Hilbert’s Irreducibility Theorem that for most rational numbers $c$ the specialized polynomial $P(c,x)$ has Galois group isomorphic to $G$ and factors in the same way as $P$. In this paper we discuss methods for computing the group $G$ and obtaining an explicit description of the exceptional numbers $c$, i.e., those for which $P(c,x)$ has Galois group different from $G$ or factors differently from $P$. To illustrate the methods we determine the exceptional specializations of three sample polynomials. In addition, we apply our techniques to prove a new result in arithmetic dynamics.