In mathematics, in particular in algebra, polarization is a technique for expressing a homogeneous polynomial in a simpler fashion by adjoining more variables. Specifically, given a homogeneous polynomial, polarization produces a unique symmetric multilinear form from which the original polynomial can be recovered by evaluating along a certain diagonal. Although the technique is deceptively simple, it has applications in many areas of abstract mathematics: in particular to algebraic geometry, invariant theory, and representation theory. Polarization and related techniques form the foundations for Weyl's invariant theory.

The technique

The fundamental ideas are as follows. Let be a polynomial in n variables Suppose that f is homogeneous of degree d, which means that Let be a collection of indeterminates with so that there are d n variables altogether. The polar form of f is a polynomial which is linear separately in each (that is, F is multilinear), symmetric in the and such that The polar form of f is given by the following construction In other words, F is a constant multiple of the coefficient of in the expansion of

Examples

A quadratic example. Suppose that and is the quadratic form Then the polarization of f is a function in and given by More generally, if f is any quadratic form then the polarization of f agrees with the conclusion of the polarization identity. A cubic example. Let Then the polarization of f is given by

Mathematical details and consequences

The polarization of a homogeneous polynomial of degree d is valid over any commutative ring in which d! is a unit. In particular, it holds over any field of characteristic zero or whose characteristic is strictly greater than d.

The polarization isomorphism (by degree)

For simplicity, let k be a field of characteristic zero and let be the polynomial ring in n variables over k. Then A is graded by degree, so that The polarization of algebraic forms then induces an isomorphism of vector spaces in each degree where is the d-th symmetric power. These isomorphisms can be expressed independently of a basis as follows. If V is a finite-dimensional vector space and A is the ring of k-valued polynomial functions on V graded by homogeneous degree, then polarization yields an isomorphism

The algebraic isomorphism

Furthermore, the polarization is compatible with the algebraic structure on A, so that where is the full symmetric algebra over V^*.

Remarks