Quadratic polynomial 2026-10-14
A quadratic polynomial in one variable over a field has polynomial degree two and the displayed form. Its roots of a polynomial satisfy a quadratic equation. The polynomial and its associated polynomial function are distinct objects: over a finite field, different polynomials can define the same function.
Quadratic spline 2026-10-14
A quadratic spline with simple knots is a continuously differentiable function that is a polynomial of degree at most two between successive knots. Its first derivative is continuous and piecewise linear, while its second derivative is piecewise constant and can jump at knots. Constant tails impose vanishing first derivatives at the outermost knots. Such a spline arises from first-derivative roughness penalization when observations are interval averages, as in the quadratic smoothing spline for interval averages.
For , the scalar one-loop determinant has the displayed local divergent potential. If is a quartic polynomial, then has degree at most two and has degree at most four. Its subtraction therefore uses the original polynomial couplings and a vacuum-energy term. A polynomial potential of degree instead produces degree , requiring new couplings. This is a direct potential-level illustration of power counting in quantum field theory and renormalizability.
Quasipolynomial 2026-09-28
A quasipolynomial is a function for which there are polynomials such that whenever . The least possible positive is its period.
Ramification polynomial 2026-10-06
The ramification polynomial records the normalised differences of conjugates of a uniformizer, including the zero difference from the identity automorphism. Its quotient by is the reduced ramification polynomial. In the usual coefficient-index convention, the finite slopes of its lower Newton polygon are negatives of the valuations of its nonzero roots; the coefficient at the zero root is treated as having infinite valuation.
For a degree- rational function of the Riemann sphere, choose relatively prime homogeneous polynomials of degree . Their joint norm on the unit three-sphere has positive lower and finite upper bounds. Thus is bounded. Averaging over a circle using a nonvanishing entire homogeneous lift of a meromorphic function proves the displayed law for the spherical characteristic. Jensen's formula and show that it also holds for the ordinary Nevanlinna characteristic.
Split a rational representation by its finite scalar center: on , for . The displayed extension is independent of the scalar-root choice and is a group homomorphism. A matrix coefficient of can be represented on by a sum of homogeneous polynomials with , by averaging over the scalar center. Its extension is , a regular function on . Every invariant subspace remains invariant under this extension, so irreducibility is preserved in both directions.
Rational function Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-09-29
A rational function is a quotient of polynomials, with nonzero. After cancelling common factors, it defines a holomorphic map from the Riemann sphere to itself.
Rational Schur module 2026-10-07
For a dominant integer tuple , choose and define , using the polynomial Schur module on the right. The alternant character formula for the general linear group shows that a larger admissible shift yields the same irreducible representation.
The minimal polynomial of a real matrix, initially computed over the complex numbers, has real coefficients. Its coefficientwise complex conjugate is also a monic polynomial of the same degree annihilating the matrix. Uniqueness of the minimal polynomial forces the two polynomials to agree.
For a nonzero real-on-the-circle trigonometric polynomial of actual order , the polynomial satisfies . Its constant term is the nonzero conjugate of its leading coefficient. Hence its nonzero roots of a polynomial occur in pairs with the same multiplicity of a root. The coefficient reversal and complex conjugation preserve the exponents of the paired factors. Fixed roots of a polynomial on the unit circle require nonnegativity, rather than this symmetry alone, to have even multiplicity.
Let be a monic polynomial of positive degree with distinct roots of a polynomial . The partial fraction decomposition
follows by matching the simple pole residues; the difference is entire and vanishes at infinity. Comparing its expansion there gives for and . These identities give the continuity and derivative jumps needed for constant-coefficient Green functions.
For a degree- totally ramified Galois extension and a uniformizer , let be its minimal polynomial. Dividing the ramification polynomial by its known factor gives the reduced ramification polynomial. It is monic of degree , integral over the extension's valuation ring, and has roots for nonidentity automorphisms. Its constant coefficient is nonzero in a separable extension. Removing the zero root allows the usual Newton polygon root valuation theorem to apply directly.
For distinct elements of a finite field, a Reed-Solomon code consists of the evaluation vectors of polynomials with degree less than . It has dimension and minimum Hamming distance , so it is a maximum distance separable code. A nonzero polynomial has at most its degree many distinct polynomial roots. Primitive cyclic Reed-Solomon codes use all nonzero field elements, ordered as powers of a primitive root of unity; arbitrary evaluation sets need not give a cyclic code.
For a degree- polynomial, reflecting the usual coefficient-index axis replaces by . The reflected lower polygon has slopes equal to root valuations, rather than their negatives. Horizontal lengths, and therefore multiplicities, are unchanged. This convention makes positive lower ramification groups breaks appear as positive slopes of a reduced ramification polygon.