Elementary Symmetric Polynomial
Elementary Symmetric Polynomial
2 Examples
The following lists the n elementary symmetric polynomials for the rst four positive values of n. (In every case,
e0 = 1 is also one of the polynomials.)
Denition
For n = 1:
e1 (X1 , X2 , . . . , Xn ) = 1jn Xj ,
e2 (X1 , X2 , . . . , Xn ) = 1j<kn Xj Xk ,
e3 (X1 , X2 , . . . , Xn ) = 1j<k<ln Xj Xk Xl ,
e1 (X1 , X2 ) = X1 + X2 ,
e2 (X1 , X2 ) = X1 X2 .
For n = 3:
e1 (X1 , X2 , X3 ) = X1 + X2 + X3 ,
e2 (X1 , X2 , X3 ) = X1 X2 + X1 X3 + X2 X3 ,
e3 (X1 , X2 , X3 ) = X1 X2 X3 .
en (X1 , X2 , . . . , Xn ) = X1 X2 . . . Xn
For n = 4:
ek (X1 , . . . , Xn ) =
e1 (X1 , X2 , X3 , X4 ) = X1 + X2 + X3 + X4 ,
e2 (X1 , X2 , X3 , X4 ) = X1 X2 + X1 X3 + X1 X4 + X2 X3 + X2 X4 + X3
Xj1 Xjk ,
e3 (X1 , X2 , X3 , X4 ) = X1 X2 X3 + X1 X2 X4 + X1 X3 X4 + X2 X3 X4 ,
e4 (X1 , X2 , X3 , X4 ) = X1 X2 X3 X4 .
Given an integer partition (that is, a nite decreasing se(+Xj ) = n +e1 (X1 , . . . , Xn )n1 +e2 (X1 , . . . , Xn )n2 + +e
quence of positive integers) = (1 , , m), one denes j=1
1
That is, when we substitute numerical values for the variables X1 , X2 , . . . , Xn , we obtain the monic univariate
polynomial (with variable ) whose roots are the values
substituted for X1 , X2 , . . . , Xn and whose coecients
are the elementary symmetric polynomials.
The set of elementary symmetric polynomials in n variables generates the ring of symmetric polynomials in n
variables. More specically, the ring of symmetric polynomials with integer coecients equals the integral polynomial ring Z[e1 (X1 , . . . , Xn ), . . . , en (X1 , . . . , Xn )].
(See below for a more general statement and proof.) This
fact is one of the foundations of invariant theory. For
other systems of symmetric polynomials with a similar property see power sum symmetric polynomials and
complete homogeneous symmetric polynomials.
1,n1 , . . . , n1,n1 )
P (X1 , . . . , Xn1 ) = Q(
. Here the doubly indexed j,n1 denote the
for some Q
elementary symmetric polynomials in n1 variables.
Consider now the polynomial
1,n , . . . , n1,n ) .
R(X1 , . . . , Xn ) := Q(
3
polynomial n,n . Then writing P R = n,n Q , the
quotient Q is a homogeneous symmetric polynomial of
degree less than d (in fact degree at most d n) which by
the inductive assumption can be expressed as a polynomial in the elementary symmetric functions. Combining
the representations for PR and R one nds a polynomial
representation for P.
The uniqueness of the representation can be proved inductively in a similar way. (It is equivalent to the fact
that the n polynomials e1 , . . . , en are algebraically independent over the ring A.) The fact that the polynomial
representation is unique implies that A[X1 , . . . , Xn ]Sn
is isomorphic to A[Y1 , . . . , Yn ] .
4.2
An alternative proof
5 See also
Symmetric polynomial
Complete homogeneous symmetric polynomial
Schur polynomial
Newtons identities
MacMahon Master theorem
Symmetric function
Representation theory
6 References
Macdonald, I.G. (1995), Symmetric Functions and
Hall Polynomials, second ed. Oxford: Clarendon
Press. ISBN 0-19-850450-0 (paperback, 1998).
Richard P. Stanley (1999), Enumerative Combinatorics, Vol. 2. Cambridge: Cambridge University
Press. ISBN 0-521-56069-1
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