up previous next
Discriminant

the discriminant of a polynomial
Syntax 

Discriminant(F:POLY):POLY
Discriminant(F:POLY, X:INDET):POLY

Description
This function computes the discriminant of a polynomial F (with respect to a given indeterminate X, if the polynomial is multivariate). If the polynomial is univariate then there is no need to specify which indeterminate to use.

The discriminant is defined to be the resultant of F and its derivative with respect to X.

Example 
  Use R ::= QQ[x,y];
  Discriminant(x^2+3y^2, x);
12y^2
-------------------------------
  Discriminant(x^2+3y^2, y);
36x^2
-------------------------------
  Discriminant((x+1)^20+2);
54975581388800000000000000000000
-------------------------------


See Also