Homogeneous

polynomial

In mathematics, a homogeneous
polynomial, sometimes called quantic in
older texts, is a polynomial whose nonzero
terms all have the same degree.[1] For
example, is a
homogeneous polynomial of degree 5, in
two variables; the sum of the exponents in
each term is always 5. The polynomial
is not homogeneous,
because the sum of exponents does not
match from term to term. The function
defined by a homogeneous polynomial is
always a homogeneous function.

An algebraic form, or simply form, is a

function defined by a homogeneous
polynomial.[2] A binary form is a form in
two variables. A form is also a function
defined on a vector space, which may be
expressed as a homogeneous function of
the coordinates over any basis.

A polynomial of degree 0 is always

homogeneous; it is simply an element of
the field or ring of the coefficients, usually
called a constant or a scalar. A form of
degree 1 is a linear form.[3] A form of
degree 2 is a quadratic form. In geometry,
the Euclidean distance is the square root
of a quadratic form.

Homogeneous polynomials are ubiquitous

in mathematics and physics.[4] They play a
fundamental role in algebraic geometry, as
a projective algebraic variety is defined as
the set of the common zeros of a set of
homogeneous polynomials.

Properties
A homogeneous polynomial defines a
homogeneous function. This means that, if
a multivariate polynomial P is
homogeneous of degree d, then

for every in any field containing the

coefficients of P. Conversely, if the above
relation is true for infinitely many then
the polynomial is homogeneous of degree
d.

In particular, if P is homogeneous then

for every This property is fundamental

in the definition of a projective variety.
Any nonzero polynomial may be
decomposed, in a unique way, as a sum of
homogeneous polynomials of different
degrees, which are called the
homogeneous components of the
polynomial.

Given a polynomial ring

over a field (or, more
generally, a ring) K, the homogeneous
polynomials of degree d form a vector
space (or a module), commonly denoted
The above unique decomposition
means that is the direct sum of the
(sum over all nonnegative integers).
The dimension of the vector space (or free
module) is the number of different
monomials of degree d in n variables (that
is the maximal number of nonzero terms
in a homogeneous polynomial of degree d
in n variables). It is equal to the binomial
coefficient

Homogeneous polynomial satisfy Euler's

identity for homogeneous functions. That
is, if P is a homogeneous polynomial of
degree d in the indeterminates
one has, whichever is the
commutative ring of the coefficients,
where denotes the formal partial

derivative of P with respect to

Homogenization
A non-homogeneous polynomial P(x1,...,xn)
can be homogenized by introducing an
additional variable x0 and defining the
homogeneous polynomial sometimes
denoted hP:[5]

where d is the degree of P. For example, if

then

A homogenized polynomial can be

dehomogenized by setting the additional
variable x0 = 1. That is

See also
Multi-homogeneous polynomial
Quasi-homogeneous polynomial
Diagonal form
Graded algebra
 Hilbert series and Hilbert polynomial
Multilinear form
Multilinear map
Polarization of an algebraic form
Schur polynomial
Symbol of a differential operator

References
1. Cox, David A.; Little, John; O'Shea, Donal
(2005). Using Algebraic Geometry (https://b
ooks.google.com/books?id=QFFpepgQgT0
C&pg=PP1) . Graduate Texts in
Mathematics. Vol. 185 (2nd ed.). Springer.
p. 2. ISBN 978-0-387-20733-9.

2. However, as some authors do not make a

clear distinction between a polynomial and
 its associated function, the terms
homogeneous polynomial and form are
sometimes considered as synonymous.

3. Linear forms are defined only for finite-

dimensional vector space, and have thus to
be distinguished from linear functionals,
which are defined for every vector space.
"Linear functional" is rarely used for finite-
dimensional vector spaces.

4. Homogeneous polynomials in physics

often appear as a consequence of
dimensional analysis, where measured
quantities must match in real-world
problems.

5. Cox, Little & O'Shea 2005, p. 35

External links
Media related to Homogeneous
polynomials at Wikimedia Commons
Weisstein, Eric W. "Homogeneous
Polynomial" (https://mathworld.wolfra
m.com/HomogeneousPolynomial.htm
l) . MathWorld.

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