# Polynomial decomposition

In mathematics, a polynomial decomposition expresses a polynomial f as the functional composition $g\circ h$ of polynomials g and h, where g and h have degree greater than 1; it is an algebraic functional decomposition. Algorithms are known for decomposing univariate polynomials in polynomial time.
Polynomials which are decomposable in this way are composite polynomials; those which are not are indecomposable polynomials or sometimes prime polynomials (not to be confused with irreducible polynomials, which cannot be factored into products of polynomials). The degree of a composite polynomial is always a composite number, the product of the degrees of the composed polynomials.
The rest of this article discusses only univariate polynomials; algorithms also exist for multivariate polynomials of arbitrary degree.

## Examples

In the simplest case, one of the polynomials is a monomial. For example,
    $f=x^{6}-3x^{3}+1$
decomposes into
    $g=x^{2}-3x+1{\text{ and }}h=x^{3}$
since
    $f(x)=(g\circ h)(x)=g(h(x))=g(x^{3})=(x^{3})^{2}-3(x^{3})+1,$
using the ring operator symbol ∘ to denote function composition.
Less trivially,
    ${\begin{aligned}&x^{6}-6x^{5}+21x^{4}-44x^{3}+68x^{2}-64x+41\\=&(x^{3}+9x^{2}+32x+41)\circ (x^{2}-2x).\end{aligned}}$

## Uniqueness

A polynomial may have distinct decompositions into indecomposable polynomials where $f=g_{1}\circ g_{2}\circ \cdots \circ g_{m}=h_{1}\circ h_{2}\circ \cdots \circ h_{n}$ where $g_{i}\neq h_{i}$ for some $i$. The restriction in the definition to polynomials of degree greater than one excludes the infinitely many decompositions possible with linear polynomials.
Joseph Ritt proved that $m=n$, and the degrees of the components are the same, but possibly in different order; this is Ritt's polynomial decomposition theorem. For example, $x^{2}\circ x^{3}=x^{3}\circ x^{2}$.

## Applications

A polynomial decomposition may enable more efficient evaluation of a polynomial. For example,
    ${\begin{aligned}&x^{8}+4x^{7}+10x^{6}+16x^{5}+19x^{4}+16x^{3}+10x^{2}+4x-1\\=&\left(x^{2}-2\right)\circ \left(x^{2}\right)\circ \left(x^{2}+x+1\right)\end{aligned}}$
can be calculated with 3 multiplications and 3 additions using the decomposition, while Horner's method would require 7 multiplications and 8 additions.
A polynomial decomposition enables calculation of symbolic roots using radicals, even for some irreducible polynomials. This technique is used in many computer algebra systems. For example, using the decomposition
    ${\begin{aligned}&x^{6}-6x^{5}+15x^{4}-20x^{3}+15x^{2}-6x-1\\=&\left(x^{3}-2\right)\circ \left(x^{2}-2x+1\right),\end{aligned}}$
the roots of this irreducible polynomial can be calculated as
    $1\pm 2^{1/6},1\pm {\frac {\sqrt {-1\pm {\sqrt {3}}i}}{2^{1/3}}}.$
Even in the case of quartic polynomials, where there is an explicit formula for the roots, solving using the decomposition often gives a simpler form. For example, the decomposition
    ${\begin{aligned}&x^{4}-8x^{3}+18x^{2}-8x+2\\=&(x^{2}+1)\circ (x^{2}-4x+1)\end{aligned}}$
gives the roots
    $2\pm {\sqrt {3\pm i}}$
but straightforward application of the quartic formula gives equivalent results but in a form that is difficult to simplify and difficult to understand; one of the four roots is:
    $2-{\frac {\sqrt {{9\left({\frac {8{\sqrt {10}}i}{3^{3/2}}}+72\right)^{2/3}+36\left({\frac {8{\sqrt {10}}i}{3^{3/2}}}+72\right)^{1/3}+156} \over {\left({\frac {8{\sqrt {10}}i}{3^{3/2}}}+72\right)^{1/3}}}}{6}}-{{\sqrt {-\left({\frac {8{\sqrt {10}}i}{3^{3/2}}}+72\right)^{1/3}-{{52} \over {3\left({\frac {8{\sqrt {10}}i}{3^{3/2}}}+72\right)^{1/3}}}+8}} \over 2}.$

## Algorithms

The first algorithm for polynomial decomposition was published in 1985, though it had been discovered in 1976, and implemented in the Macsyma/Maxima computer algebra system. That algorithm takes exponential time in worst case, but works independently of the characteristic of the underlying field.
A 1989 algorithm runs in polynomial time but with restrictions on the characteristic.
A 2014 algorithm calculates a decomposition in polynomial time and without restrictions on the characteristic.