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A simple proof of Hermite's theorem on the zeros of a polynomial

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  18 May 2009

N. J. Young
Affiliation:
University of Glasgow, Department of Mathematics, University Gardens, Glasgow, G12 8QW
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In 1856 Hermite showed how to determine by purely rational operations the number of zeros of a given polynomial lying in a specified half plane [1]: one inspects the signature of a certain Hermitian form. This type of result is still of interest for practical applications, and several authors have provided alternatives to Hermite's original, highly computational proof (for example [2, 3]). Recently V. Pták and the author gave a simple matrix-theoretic proof and generalization of a class of Hermite-type theorems [4]. This class included the Schur-Cohn test for zeros in a circle, but not, to our regret, the original theorem of Hermite. The purpose of this note is to show that a slight modification of our method does indeed provide a simple proof of Hermite's theorem.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © Glasgow Mathematical Journal Trust 1983

References

REFERENCES

1.Hermite, C., Sur le nombre des racines d'une équation algébrique comprises entre des limites données, J. Reine Angew. Math. 52 (1856), 3951; translation in Internal. J. Control 26 (1977), 183–195.Google Scholar
2.Parks, P. C., Further comments on “A symmetric matrix formulation of the Hurwitz-Routh stability criterion”, IEEE Trans. Automat. Control 8 (1963), 270271.Google Scholar
3.Parks, P. C., A new proof of Hermite's stability criterion and a generalization of Orlando's formula, Intemat. J. Control 26 (1977), 197206.Google Scholar
4.Pták, Vlastimil and Young, N. J., A generalization of the zero location theorem of Schur and Cohn, IEEE Trans. Automat. Control 25 (1980), 978980.Google Scholar