Search results
Results from the WOW.Com Content Network
For every x except 0, y represents its multiplicative inverse. The graph forms a rectangular hyperbola. In mathematics, a multiplicative inverse or reciprocal for a number x, denoted by 1/x or x −1, is a number which when multiplied by x yields the multiplicative identity, 1. The multiplicative inverse of a fraction a/b is b/a. For the ...
The inverse or multiplicative inverse (for avoiding confusion with additive inverses) of a unit x is denoted , or, when the multiplication is commutative, . The additive identity 0 is never a unit, except when the ring is the zero ring, which has 0 as its unique element.
A modular multiplicative inverse of a modulo m can be found by using the extended Euclidean algorithm. The Euclidean algorithm determines the greatest common divisor (gcd) of two integers, say a and m. If a has a multiplicative inverse modulo m, this gcd must be 1. The last of several equations produced by the algorithm may be solved for this gcd.
The multiplicative inverse x ≡ a −1 (mod m) may be efficiently computed by solving Bézout's equation a x + m y = 1 for x, y, by using the Extended Euclidean algorithm. In particular, if p is a prime number, then a is coprime with p for every a such that 0 < a < p; thus a multiplicative inverse exists for all a that is not congruent to zero ...
For associative algebras, the definition can be simplified as follows: a non-zero associative algebra over a field is a division algebra if and only if it has a multiplicative identity element 1 and every non-zero element a has a multiplicative inverse (i.e. an element x with ax = xa = 1).
An element a of Z/nZ has a multiplicative inverse (that is, it is a unit) if it is coprime to n. In particular, if n is prime, a has a multiplicative inverse if it is not zero (modulo n). Thus Z/nZ is a field if and only if n is prime. Bézout's identity asserts that a and n are coprime if and only if there exist integers s and t such that
The reciprocal function f(x) = x −1 where for every x except 0, f(x) represents its multiplicative inverse. Exponentiation of a non‐zero real number can be extended to negative integers, where raising a number to the power −1 has the same effect as taking its multiplicative inverse: x −1 = 1 / x .
The multiplicative identity 1 and its additive inverse −1 are always units. More generally, any root of unity in a ring R is a unit: if r n = 1, then r n−1 is a multiplicative inverse of r. In a nonzero ring, the element 0 is not a unit, so R × is not closed under addition.