Problem #WSP-5461

Descriptions Polynomials

Problem

So far we have discussed polynomials in one variable, i.e: with only an \(x\) as our variable. We can however, include as many as we want. For example, we can talk of a polynomial such as \[P(x,y)=x^2-y^2,\] where both \(x\) and \(y\) are variables. This is an example of an antisymmetric polynomial, which means that \(P(x,y)=-P(y,x)\) (i.e: switching \(x\) for \(y\) gives the original polynomial with a minus sign). Conversely, a polynomial \(Q(x,y)\) such that \(Q(x,y)=Q(y,x)\) is called symmetric. Show that every antisymmetric polynomial \(P(x,y)\) can be factored as \[P(x,y)=(x-y)Q(x,y),\] where \(Q(x,y)\) is a symmetric polynomial.