In
mathematics
Mathematics is an area of knowledge that includes the topics of numbers, formulas and related structures, shapes and the spaces in which they are contained, and quantities and their changes. These topics are represented in modern mathematics ...
, the Fibonacci polynomials are a
polynomial sequence
In mathematics, a polynomial sequence is a sequence of polynomials indexed by the nonnegative integers 0, 1, 2, 3, ..., in which each index is equal to the degree of the corresponding polynomial. Polynomial sequences are a topic of interest in en ...
which can be considered as a generalization of the
Fibonacci number
In mathematics, the Fibonacci numbers, commonly denoted , form a sequence, the Fibonacci sequence, in which each number is the sum of the two preceding ones. The sequence commonly starts from 0 and 1, although some authors start the sequence from ...
s. The polynomials generated in a similar way from the
Lucas numbers
The Lucas numbers or Lucas series are an integer sequence named after the mathematician François Édouard Anatole Lucas (1842–1891), who studied both that sequence and the closely related Fibonacci numbers. Lucas numbers and Fibonacci nu ...
are called Lucas polynomials.
Definition
These Fibonacci
polynomial
In mathematics, a polynomial is an expression consisting of indeterminates (also called variables) and coefficients, that involves only the operations of addition, subtraction, multiplication, and positive-integer powers of variables. An exa ...
s are defined by a
recurrence relation
In mathematics, a recurrence relation is an equation according to which the nth term of a sequence of numbers is equal to some combination of the previous terms. Often, only k previous terms of the sequence appear in the equation, for a parameter ...
:
[Benjamin & Quinn p. 141]
:
The Lucas polynomials use the same recurrence with different starting values:
:
They can be defined for negative indices by
[Springer]
:
:
The Fibonacci polynomials form a sequence of
orthogonal polynomials
In mathematics, an orthogonal polynomial sequence is a family of polynomials such that any two different polynomials in the sequence are orthogonality, orthogonal to each other under some inner product.
The most widely used orthogonal polynomial ...
with
and
.
Examples
The first few Fibonacci polynomials are:
:
:
:
:
:
:
:
The first few Lucas polynomials are:
:
:
:
:
:
:
:
Properties
* The degree of ''F''
''n'' is ''n'' − 1 and the degree of ''L''
''n'' is ''n''.
* The Fibonacci and Lucas numbers are recovered by evaluating the polynomials at ''x'' = 1;
Pell numbers
In mathematics, the Pell numbers are an infinite sequence of integers, known since ancient times, that comprise the denominators of the closest rational approximations to the square root of 2. This sequence of approximations begins , , , , and ...
are recovered by evaluating ''F''
''n'' at ''x'' = 2.
* The
ordinary generating functions
In mathematics, a generating function is a way of encoding an infinite sequence of numbers () by treating them as the coefficients of a formal power series. This series is called the generating function of the sequence. Unlike an ordinary ser ...
for the sequences are:
*:
*:
*The polynomials can be expressed in terms of
Lucas sequence
In mathematics, the Lucas sequences U_n(P,Q) and V_n(P, Q) are certain constant-recursive integer sequences that satisfy the recurrence relation
: x_n = P \cdot x_ - Q \cdot x_
where P and Q are fixed integers. Any sequence satisfying this recu ...
s as
*:
*:
*They can also be expressed in terms of
Chebyshev polynomials
The Chebyshev polynomials are two sequences of polynomials related to the cosine and sine functions, notated as T_n(x) and U_n(x). They can be defined in several equivalent ways, one of which starts with trigonometric functions:
The Chebyshe ...
and
as
*:
*:
:where
is the
imaginary unit
The imaginary unit or unit imaginary number () is a solution to the quadratic equation x^2+1=0. Although there is no real number with this property, can be used to extend the real numbers to what are called complex numbers, using addition an ...
.
Identities
As particular cases of Lucas sequences, Fibonacci polynomials satisfy a number of identities, such as
[
:
:
:
:
Closed form expressions, similar to Binet's formula are:][
:
where
:
are the solutions (in ''t'') of
:
For Lucas Polynomials ''n'' > 0, we have
:
A relationship between the Fibonacci polynomials and the standard basis polynomials is given by][A proof starts from page 5 i]
Algebra Solutions Packet (no author)
:
For example,
:
:
:
:
Combinatorial interpretation
If ''F''(''n'',''k'') is the coefficient of ''xk'' in ''Fn''(''x''), namely
:
then ''F''(''n'',''k'') is the number of ways an ''n''−1 by 1 rectangle can be tiled with 2 by 1 domino
Dominoes is a family of tile-based games played with gaming pieces, commonly known as dominoes. Each domino is a rectangular tile, usually with a line dividing its face into two square ''ends''. Each end is marked with a number of spots (also ca ...
es and 1 by 1 squares so that exactly ''k'' squares are used.[ Equivalently, ''F''(''n'',''k'') is the number of ways of writing ''n''−1 as an ordered sum involving only 1 and 2, so that 1 is used exactly ''k'' times. For example F(6,3)=4 and 5 can be written in 4 ways, 1+1+1+2, 1+1+2+1, 1+2+1+1, 2+1+1+1, as a sum involving only 1 and 2 with 1 used 3 times. By counting the number of times 1 and 2 are both used in such a sum, it is evident that
This gives a way of reading the coefficients from ]Pascal's triangle
In mathematics, Pascal's triangle is a triangular array of the binomial coefficients that arises in probability theory, combinatorics, and algebra. In much of the Western world, it is named after the French mathematician Blaise Pascal, although ot ...
as shown on the right.
References
*
*
*
*
*Jin, Z. On the Lucas polynomials and some of their new identities. Advances in Differential Equations 2018, 126 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1186/s13662-018-1527-9
Further reading
*
*
*
*
*
External links
*
*{{OEIS el, sequencenumber=A011973, name=Triangle of coefficients of Fibonacci polynomials, formalname=Triangle of numbers {C(n-k,k), n >= 0, 0 <= k <= floor(n/2)}; or, triangle of coefficients of (one version of) Fibonacci polynomials
Polynomials
Fibonacci numbers