Limit law for root separation in random polynomials

Abstract: Let $f_n$ be a random polynomial of degree $n\ge 2$ whose coefficients are independent and identically distributed random variables. We study the separation distances between roots of $f_n$ and prove that the set of these distances, normalized by $n^{-5/4}$, converges in distribution as $n\to \infty$ to a non-homogeneous Poisson point process. As a corollary, we deduce that the minimal separation distance between roots of $f_n$, normalized by $n^{-5/4}$ has a non-trivial limit law. In the course of the proof, we establish a related result which may be of independent interest: a Taylor series with random i.i.d. coefficients almost-surely does not have a double zero anywhere other than the origin.