Difference between revisions of "Symmetric sum"
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A '''symmetric function''' of <math>n</math> variables is a function that is unchanged by any [[permutation]] of its variables. The symmetric sum of a symmetric function <math>f(x_1, x_2, x_3, \dots, x_n)</math> therefore satisfies <cmath>\sum_{sym} f(x_1, x_2, x_3, \dots, x_n) = n!f(x_1, x_2, x_3, \dots, x_n).</cmath> | A '''symmetric function''' of <math>n</math> variables is a function that is unchanged by any [[permutation]] of its variables. The symmetric sum of a symmetric function <math>f(x_1, x_2, x_3, \dots, x_n)</math> therefore satisfies <cmath>\sum_{sym} f(x_1, x_2, x_3, \dots, x_n) = n!f(x_1, x_2, x_3, \dots, x_n).</cmath> | ||
− | Given <math>n</math> variables <math>x_1,\ldots,x_n</math> and a symmetric function <math>f(x_1,\ldots,x_r)</math> with <math>r\leq n</math>, the notation <math>\sum_{sym}f(x_1, x_2, x_3, \dots, x_r)</math> is | + | Given <math>n</math> variables <math>x_1,\ldots,x_n</math> and a symmetric function <math>f(x_1,\ldots,x_r)</math> with <math>r\leq n</math>, the notation <math>\sum_{sym}f(x_1, x_2, x_3, \dots, x_r)</math> is sometimes used to denote the sum of <math>f(x_1,\ldots,x_r)</math> over all <math>\left(\begin{matrix}n\cr r\end{matrix}\right)</math> subsets of size <math>r</math> in <math>\{x_1,\ldots,x_n\}</math>. |
== See also== | == See also== |
Revision as of 16:50, 17 June 2018
The symmetric sum of a function of variables is defined to be , where ranges over all permutations of .
More generally, a symmetric sum of variables is a sum that is unchanged by any permutation of its variables.
Any symmetric sum can be written as a polynomial of elementary symmetric sums.
A symmetric function of variables is a function that is unchanged by any permutation of its variables. The symmetric sum of a symmetric function therefore satisfies
Given variables and a symmetric function with , the notation is sometimes used to denote the sum of over all subsets of size in .
See also
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