Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP
Posting-Version: version B 2.10.2 9/18/84; site geowhiz.UUCP
Path: utzoo!watmath!clyde!burl!ulysses!unc!mcnc!decvax!genrad!grkermi!panda!talcott!harvard!seismo!uwvax!geowhiz!karsh
From: karsh@geowhiz.UUCP
Newsgroups: net.math
Subject: Re: roots for quintic polynomial
Message-ID: <197@geowhiz.UUCP>
Date: Sat, 8-Jun-85 22:02:03 EDT
Article-I.D.: geowhiz.197
Posted: Sat Jun  8 22:02:03 1985
Date-Received: Tue, 11-Jun-85 03:12:29 EDT
References: <2206@utcsstat.UUCP> <3827@alice.UUCP>
Reply-To: karsh@geowhiz.UUCP (Bruce Karsh)
Organization: UW Madison, Geology Dept.
Lines: 19

In article <3827@alice.UUCP> ark@alice.UUCP (Andrew Koenig) writes:
>> 	I am looking for equations (and references, if possible) which can be
>> used to determine the roots of a fifth-order polynomial. Any help would be
>> greatly appreciated !!!
>
>The roots of a quintic polynomial can generally not be expressed
>in closed form at all.  This is the lowest degree polynomial of
>which this is true.

  It depends what you mean by "in closed form".  It has been proven
that the quinitc can't be solved "in radicals".  But I understand that
there is a solution in terms of elliptic modular functions.

-- 
Bruce Karsh                           |
U. Wisc. Dept. Geology and Geophysics |
1215 W Dayton, Madison, WI 53706      | This space for rent.
(608) 262-1697                        |
{ihnp4,seismo}!uwvax!geowhiz!karsh    |