Rational functionIn mathematics, a rational function is any function that can be defined by a rational fraction, which is an algebraic fraction such that both the numerator and the denominator are polynomials. The coefficients of the polynomials need not be rational numbers; they may be taken in any field K. In this case, one speaks of a rational function and a rational fraction over K. The values of the variables may be taken in any field L containing K. Then the domain of the function is the set of the values of the variables for which the denominator is not zero, and the codomain is L.
Symbolic integrationIn calculus, symbolic integration is the problem of finding a formula for the antiderivative, or indefinite integral, of a given function f(x), i.e. to find a differentiable function F(x) such that This is also denoted The term symbolic is used to distinguish this problem from that of numerical integration, where the value of F is sought at a particular input or set of inputs, rather than a general formula for F.
Taylor's theoremIn calculus, Taylor's theorem gives an approximation of a -times differentiable function around a given point by a polynomial of degree , called the -th-order Taylor polynomial. For a smooth function, the Taylor polynomial is the truncation at the order of the Taylor series of the function. The first-order Taylor polynomial is the linear approximation of the function, and the second-order Taylor polynomial is often referred to as the quadratic approximation.
FractionA fraction (from fractus, "broken") represents a part of a whole or, more generally, any number of equal parts. When spoken in everyday English, a fraction describes how many parts of a certain size there are, for example, one-half, eight-fifths, three-quarters. A common, vulgar, or simple fraction (examples: and ) consists of an integer numerator, displayed above a line (or before a slash like ), and a non-zero integer denominator, displayed below (or after) that line.
Square-free polynomialIn mathematics, a square-free polynomial is a polynomial defined over a field (or more generally, an integral domain) that does not have as a divisor any square of a non-constant polynomial. A univariate polynomial is square free if and only if it has no multiple root in an algebraically closed field containing its coefficients. This motivates that, in applications in physics and engineering, a square-free polynomial is commonly called a polynomial with no repeated roots.
Polynomial greatest common divisorIn algebra, the greatest common divisor (frequently abbreviated as GCD) of two polynomials is a polynomial, of the highest possible degree, that is a factor of both the two original polynomials. This concept is analogous to the greatest common divisor of two integers. In the important case of univariate polynomials over a field the polynomial GCD may be computed, like for the integer GCD, by the Euclidean algorithm using long division. The polynomial GCD is defined only up to the multiplication by an invertible constant.
Z-transformIn mathematics and signal processing, the Z-transform converts a discrete-time signal, which is a sequence of real or complex numbers, into a complex frequency-domain (z-domain or z-plane) representation. It can be considered as a discrete-time equivalent of the Laplace transform (s-domain). This similarity is explored in the theory of time-scale calculus. Whereas the continuous-time Fourier transform is evaluated on the Laplace s-domain's imaginary line, the discrete-time Fourier transform is evaluated over the unit circle of the z-domain.
Computer algebraIn mathematics and computer science, computer algebra, also called symbolic computation or algebraic computation, is a scientific area that refers to the study and development of algorithms and software for manipulating mathematical expressions and other mathematical objects. Although computer algebra could be considered a subfield of scientific computing, they are generally considered as distinct fields because scientific computing is usually based on numerical computation with approximate floating point numbers, while symbolic computation emphasizes exact computation with expressions containing variables that have no given value and are manipulated as symbols.
Computer algebra systemA computer algebra system (CAS) or symbolic algebra system (SAS) is any mathematical software with the ability to manipulate mathematical expressions in a way similar to the traditional manual computations of mathematicians and scientists. The development of the computer algebra systems in the second half of the 20th century is part of the discipline of "computer algebra" or "symbolic computation", which has spurred work in algorithms over mathematical objects such as polynomials.
