How the Roots of a Polynomial Depend on Its Constant Coefficient
How the Roots of a Polynomial Depend on Its Constant Coefficient
This Demonstration shows how the roots (blue points) of the polynomial depend on the constant coefficient , which is shown enclosed in parentheses. The polynomial has multiple roots (cyan points) if and . The values of for roots of the second equation are called critical points (red points).
p(z)=-z+a
n
z
a
p(z)=0
p'(z)=n-1=0
n-1
z
a
The zeros of a polynomial are continuous functions of its coefficients. If , one root is 0, and the others are the roots of 1. In the case of , the roots are . If moves in a loop from to , enclosing only the positive critical point (red point), the positions of the zeros corresponding to and of as a function of are interchanged.
a=0
n-1
n=5
0,-1,1,i-i,i
a
0
0
0
1
p(z)
a