PolynomialIn mathematics, a polynomial is an expression consisting of indeterminates (also called variables) and coefficients, that involves only the operations of addition, subtraction, multiplication, and positive-integer powers of variables. An example of a polynomial of a single indeterminate x is x2 − 4x + 7. An example with three indeterminates is x3 + 2xyz2 − yz + 1. Polynomials appear in many areas of mathematics and science.
Polynomial ringIn mathematics, especially in the field of algebra, a polynomial ring or polynomial algebra is a ring (which is also a commutative algebra) formed from the set of polynomials in one or more indeterminates (traditionally also called variables) with coefficients in another ring, often a field. Often, the term "polynomial ring" refers implicitly to the special case of a polynomial ring in one indeterminate over a field. The importance of such polynomial rings relies on the high number of properties that they have in common with the ring of the integers.
Ideal (ring theory)In mathematics, and more specifically in ring theory, an ideal of a ring is a special subset of its elements. Ideals generalize certain subsets of the integers, such as the even numbers or the multiples of 3. Addition and subtraction of even numbers preserves evenness, and multiplying an even number by any integer (even or odd) results in an even number; these closure and absorption properties are the defining properties of an ideal.
Maximal idealIn mathematics, more specifically in ring theory, a maximal ideal is an ideal that is maximal (with respect to set inclusion) amongst all proper ideals. In other words, I is a maximal ideal of a ring R if there are no other ideals contained between I and R. Maximal ideals are important because the quotients of rings by maximal ideals are simple rings, and in the special case of unital commutative rings they are also fields.
Chebyshev polynomialsThe Chebyshev polynomials are two sequences of polynomials related to the cosine and sine functions, notated as and . They can be defined in several equivalent ways, one of which starts with trigonometric functions: The Chebyshev polynomials of the first kind are defined by Similarly, the Chebyshev polynomials of the second kind are defined by That these expressions define polynomials in may not be obvious at first sight, but follows by rewriting and using de Moivre's formula or by using the angle sum formulas for and repeatedly.
Prime idealIn algebra, a prime ideal is a subset of a ring that shares many important properties of a prime number in the ring of integers. The prime ideals for the integers are the sets that contain all the multiples of a given prime number, together with the zero ideal. Primitive ideals are prime, and prime ideals are both primary and semiprime. An ideal P of a commutative ring R is prime if it has the following two properties: If a and b are two elements of R such that their product ab is an element of P, then a is in P or b is in P, P is not the whole ring R.
Fractional idealIn mathematics, in particular commutative algebra, the concept of fractional ideal is introduced in the context of integral domains and is particularly fruitful in the study of Dedekind domains. In some sense, fractional ideals of an integral domain are like ideals where denominators are allowed. In contexts where fractional ideals and ordinary ring ideals are both under discussion, the latter are sometimes termed integral ideals for clarity. Let be an integral domain, and let be its field of fractions.
Laguerre polynomialsIn mathematics, the Laguerre polynomials, named after Edmond Laguerre (1834–1886), are solutions of Laguerre's differential equation: which is a second-order linear differential equation. This equation has nonsingular solutions only if n is a non-negative integer. Sometimes the name Laguerre polynomials is used for solutions of where n is still a non-negative integer. Then they are also named generalized Laguerre polynomials, as will be done here (alternatively associated Laguerre polynomials or, rarely, Sonine polynomials, after their inventor Nikolay Yakovlevich Sonin).
Legendre polynomialsIn mathematics, Legendre polynomials, named after Adrien-Marie Legendre (1782), are a system of complete and orthogonal polynomials with a vast number of mathematical properties and numerous applications. They can be defined in many ways, and the various definitions highlight different aspects as well as suggest generalizations and connections to different mathematical structures and physical and numerical applications. Closely related to the Legendre polynomials are associated Legendre polynomials, Legendre functions, Legendre functions of the second kind, and associated Legendre functions.
Ring homomorphismIn ring theory, a branch of abstract algebra, a ring homomorphism is a structure-preserving function between two rings. More explicitly, if R and S are rings, then a ring homomorphism is a function f : R → S such that f is: addition preserving: for all a and b in R, multiplication preserving: for all a and b in R, and unit (multiplicative identity) preserving: Additive inverses and the additive identity are part of the structure too, but it is not necessary to require explicitly that they too are respected, because these conditions are consequences of the three conditions above.
Ring (mathematics)In mathematics, rings are algebraic structures that generalize fields: multiplication need not be commutative and multiplicative inverses need not exist. In other words, a ring is a set equipped with two binary operations satisfying properties analogous to those of addition and multiplication of integers. Ring elements may be numbers such as integers or complex numbers, but they may also be non-numerical objects such as polynomials, square matrices, functions, and power series.
Minimal idealIn the branch of abstract algebra known as ring theory, a minimal right ideal of a ring R is a non-zero right ideal which contains no other non-zero right ideal. Likewise, a minimal left ideal is a non-zero left ideal of R containing no other non-zero left ideals of R, and a minimal ideal of R is a non-zero ideal containing no other non-zero two-sided ideal of R . In other words, minimal right ideals are minimal elements of the partially ordered set (poset) of non-zero right ideals of R ordered by inclusion.
Orthogonal polynomialsIn mathematics, an orthogonal polynomial sequence is a family of polynomials such that any two different polynomials in the sequence are orthogonal to each other under some inner product. The most widely used orthogonal polynomials are the classical orthogonal polynomials, consisting of the Hermite polynomials, the Laguerre polynomials and the Jacobi polynomials. The Gegenbauer polynomials form the most important class of Jacobi polynomials; they include the Chebyshev polynomials, and the Legendre polynomials as special cases.
Ideal theoryIn mathematics, ideal theory is the theory of ideals in commutative rings. While the notion of an ideal exists also for non-commutative rings, a much more substantial theory exists only for commutative rings (and this article therefore only considers ideals in commutative rings.) Throughout the articles, rings refer to commutative rings. See also the article ideal (ring theory) for basic operations such as sum or products of ideals.
Hermite polynomialsIn mathematics, the Hermite polynomials are a classical orthogonal polynomial sequence. The polynomials arise in: signal processing as Hermitian wavelets for wavelet transform analysis probability, such as the Edgeworth series, as well as in connection with Brownian motion; combinatorics, as an example of an Appell sequence, obeying the umbral calculus; numerical analysis as Gaussian quadrature; physics, where they give rise to the eigenstates of the quantum harmonic oscillator; and they also occur in some cases of the heat equation (when the term is present); systems theory in connection with nonlinear operations on Gaussian noise.
DivisorIn mathematics, a divisor of an integer , also called a factor of , is an integer that may be multiplied by some integer to produce . In this case, one also says that is a multiple of An integer is divisible or evenly divisible by another integer if is a divisor of ; this implies dividing by leaves no remainder. An integer n is divisible by a nonzero integer m if there exists an integer k such that . This is written as Other ways of saying the same thing are that m divides n, m is a divisor of n, m is a factor of n, and n is a multiple of m.
Radical of an idealIn ring theory, a branch of mathematics, the radical of an ideal of a commutative ring is another ideal defined by the property that an element is in the radical if and only if some power of is in . Taking the radical of an ideal is called radicalization. A radical ideal (or semiprime ideal) is an ideal that is equal to its radical. The radical of a primary ideal is a prime ideal. This concept is generalized to non-commutative rings in the Semiprime ring article.
Homogeneous polynomialIn mathematics, a homogeneous polynomial, sometimes called quantic in older texts, is a polynomial whose nonzero terms all have the same degree. For example, is a homogeneous polynomial of degree 5, in two variables; the sum of the exponents in each term is always 5. The polynomial is not homogeneous, because the sum of exponents does not match from term to term. The function defined by a homogeneous polynomial is always a homogeneous function. An algebraic form, or simply form, is a function defined by a homogeneous polynomial.
MorphismIn mathematics, particularly in , a morphism is a structure-preserving map from one mathematical structure to another one of the same type. The notion of morphism recurs in much of contemporary mathematics. In set theory, morphisms are functions; in linear algebra, linear transformations; in group theory, group homomorphisms; in analysis and topology, continuous functions, and so on.
Ideal (order theory)In mathematical order theory, an ideal is a special subset of a partially ordered set (poset). Although this term historically was derived from the notion of a ring ideal of abstract algebra, it has subsequently been generalized to a different notion. Ideals are of great importance for many constructions in order and lattice theory. A subset I of a partially ordered set is an ideal, if the following conditions hold: I is non-empty, for every x in I and y in P, y ≤ x implies that y is in I (I is a lower set), for every x, y in I, there is some element z in I, such that x ≤ z and y ≤ z (I is a directed set).
