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In algebra, the factor theorem connects polynomial factors with polynomial roots. Specifically, if f ( x ) {\displaystyle f(x)} is a polynomial, then x − a {\displaystyle x-a} is a factor of f ( x ) {\displaystyle f(x)} if and only if f ( a ) = 0 {\displaystyle f(a)=0} (that is, a {\displaystyle a} is a root of the polynomial).
If the original polynomial is the product of factors at least two of which are of degree 2 or higher, this technique only provides a partial factorization; otherwise the factorization is complete. In particular, if there is exactly one non-linear factor, it will be the polynomial left after all linear factors have been factorized out.
In elementary algebra, factoring a polynomial reduces the problem of finding its roots to finding the roots of the factors. Polynomials with coefficients in the integers or in a field possess the unique factorization property, a version of the fundamental theorem of arithmetic with prime numbers replaced by irreducible polynomials.
Thus, the function may be more "cheaply" evaluated using synthetic division and the polynomial remainder theorem. The factor theorem is another application of the remainder theorem: if the remainder is zero, then the linear divisor is a factor. Repeated application of the factor theorem may be used to factorize the polynomial. [3]
q is an integer factor of the leading coefficient a n. The rational root theorem is a special case (for a single linear factor) of Gauss's lemma on the factorization of polynomials. The integral root theorem is the special case of the rational root theorem when the leading coefficient is a n = 1.
Polynomial factoring algorithms use basic polynomial operations such as products, divisions, gcd, powers of one polynomial modulo another, etc. A multiplication of two polynomials of degree at most n can be done in O(n 2) operations in F q using "classical" arithmetic, or in O(nlog(n) log(log(n)) ) operations in F q using "fast" arithmetic.
Rational root theorem – Relationship between the rational roots of a polynomial and its extreme coefficients; Geometrical properties of polynomial roots – Geometry of the location of polynomial roots; Gauss–Lucas theorem – Geometric relation between the roots of a polynomial and those of its derivative
It is clear that any finite set {} of points in the complex plane has an associated polynomial = whose zeroes are precisely at the points of that set. The converse is a consequence of the fundamental theorem of algebra: any polynomial function () in the complex plane has a factorization = (), where a is a non-zero constant and {} is the set of zeroes of ().