POLYNOMIALS Gabriel D
POLYNOMIALS Gabriel D. Carroll, 11/14/99 The theory of polynomials is an extremely broad and far-reaching area of study, having applications not only to algebra but also ranging from combinatorics to geometry to analysis. Consequently, this exposition can only give a small taste of a few facets of this theory. However, it is hoped that this will spur the reader’s interest in the subject. 1 Definitions and basic operations First, we’d better know what we’re talking about. A polynomial in the indeterminate x is a formal expression of the form n n n 1 i f(x) = cnx + cn 1x − + + c1x + x0 = cix − ··· X i=0 for some coefficients ci. Admittedly this definition is not quite all there in that it doesn’t say what the coefficients are. Generally, we take our coefficients in some field. A field is a system of objects with two operations (generally called “addition” and “multiplication”), both of which are commutative and associative, have identities, and are related by the distributive law; also, every element has an additive inverse, and everything except the additive identity has a multiplicative inverse. Examples of familiar fields are the rational numbers Q, the reals R, and the complex numbers C, though plenty of other examples exist, both finite and infinite. We let F [x] denote the set of all polynomials “over” (with coefficients in) the field F . Unless otherwise stated, don’t worry about what field we’re working over. n i A few more terms should be defined before we proceed. First, if f(x) = i=0 cix with cn = 0, we say n is the degree of the polynomial, written deg f.
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