On a characterization of polynomials by divided differences

Summary We consider the functional equationfx ₁,x ₂,, x _n ] =h(x ₁ + +x _n ) (x ₁,,x _n K, x _j x _k forj k), (D) wherefx ₁,x ₂,,x _n ] denotes the (n – 1)-st divided difference off and prove Theorem. Let n be an integer, n 2, let K be a field, char(K) 2, with # K 8(n – 2) + 2. Let, furthermore, f, h: K K be functions. Then we have that f, h fulfil (D) if, and only if, there are constants a_j K, 0 j n (a := a_n, b := a_{n – 1}) such thatf = ax ⁿ +bx ^{n – 1} + +a ₀ and h = ax + b.