In mathematics, a rational function is any function which can be defined by a rational

fraction, i.e. an algebraic fraction such that both the numerator and the denominator arepolynomials.
The coefficients of the polynomials need not be rational numbers, they may be taken in any field K.
In this case, one speaks of a rational function and a rational fraction over K. The values of
the variables may be taken in any field L containing K. Then the domain of the function is the set of
the values of the variables for which the denominator is not zero and the codomain is L.
By modifying the definition to use equivalence classes the set of rational functions becomes a field.
Contents
1 Definitions
2 Examples
3 Taylor series
4 Abstract algebra and geometric notion
o 4.1 Complex rational functions
o 4.2 Notion of a rational function on an algebraic variety
5 Applications
6 References
7 See also
8 External links
Definitions[edit]
A function is called a rational function if and only if it can be written in the form

where and are polynomials in and is not the zero polynomial. The domain of is the
set of all points for which the denominator is not zero.
However, if and have a non constant polynomial greatest common divisor , then
setting and produces a rational function

which may have a larger domain than , and is equal to on the domain
of It is a common usage to identify and , that is to extend "by continuity"
the domain of to that of Indeed, one can define a rational fraction as
an equivalence class of fractions of polynomials, where two fractions A(x)/B(x) and C(x)/D(x)
are considered equivalent if A(x)D(x)=B(x)C(x). In this case is equivalent to .
Examples[edit]
Examples of rational functions

Rational function of degree 3:

Rational function of degree 2:
The rational function is not defined at . It
is asymptotic to as xapproaches infinity.
The rational function is defined for all real numbers, but not for
all complex numbers, since if x were a square root of (i.e. the imaginary unit or its
negative), then formal evaluation would lead to division by
zero: , which is undefined.
A constant function such as f(x) = is a rational function since constants are polynomials.
Note that the function itself is rational, even though the value of f(x) is irrational for all x.
Every polynomial function is a rational function with . A
function that cannot be written in this form, such as , is not a rational
function. The adjective "irrational" is not generally used for functions.
The rational function is equal to 1 for all x except 0, where there is a removable
singularity. The sum, product, or quotient (excepting division by the zero polynomial) of two
rational functions is itself a rational function. However, the process of reduction to standard
form may inadvertently result in the removal of such singularities unless care is taken. Using
the definition of rational functions as equivalence classes gets around this, since x/x is
equivalent to 1/1.
Taylor series[edit]
The coefficients of a Taylor series of any rational function satisfy a linear recurrence relation,
which can be found by setting the rational function equal to its Taylor series and
collecting like terms.
For example,

Multiplying through by the denominator and distributing,


After adjusting the indices of the sums to get the same powers of x, we get

Combining like terms gives

Since this holds true for all x in the radius of convergence of the original
Taylor series, we can compute as follows. Since the constant term on
the left must equal the constant term on the right it follows that

Then, since there are no powers of x on the left, all of
the coefficients on the right must be zero, from which it follows that


Conversely, any sequence that satisfies a linear recurrence
determines a rational function when used as the
coefficients of a Taylor series. This is useful in solving such
recurrences, since by using partial fraction
decomposition we can write any rational function as a sum
of factors of the form 1 / (ax + b) and expand these
as geometric series, giving an explicit formula for the
Taylor coefficients; this is the method of generating
functions.
Abstract algebra and geometric
notion[edit]
In abstract algebra the concept of a polynomial is extended
to include formal expressions in which the coefficients of
the polynomial can be taken from any field. In this setting
given a field F and some indeterminate X, a rational
expression is any element of the field of fractions of
the polynomial ring F[X]. Any rational expression can be
written as the quotient of two polynomials P/Q with Q 0,
although this representation isn't unique. P/Q is equivalent
to R/S, for polynomials P, Q, R, and S, when PS = QR.
However since F[X] is a unique factorization domain, there
is a unique representation for any rational
expression P/Q with P and Q polynomials of lowest degree
and Q chosen to be monic. This is similar to how
a fraction of integers can always be written uniquely in
lowest terms by canceling out common factors.
The field of rational expressions is denoted F(X). This field
is said to be generated (as a field) over F by
(a transcendental element) X, because F(X) does not
contain any proper subfield containing both F and the
element X.
Complex rational functions[edit]
In complex analysis, a rational function

is the ratio of two polynomials with complex
coefficients, where Q is not the zero polynomial
and P and Q have no common factor (this
avoids f taking the indeterminate value 0/0). The
domain and range of f are usually taken to be
the Riemann sphere, which avoids any need for
special treatment at the poles of the function
(where Q(z) is 0).
The degree of a rational function is the maximum of
the degrees of its constituent polynomials P and Q. If
the degree of f is d, then the equation

has d distinct solutions in z except for certain
values of w, called critical values, where two or
more solutions coincide. The function f can
therefore be thought of as a d-foldcovering of
the w-sphere by the z-sphere.
Rational functions with degree 1 are called Mbius
transformations and form
the automorphisms group of the Riemann sphere.
Rational functions are representative examples
ofmeromorphic functions.
Notion of a rational function on an
algebraic variety[edit]
Main article: Function field of an algebraic variety
Like polynomials, rational expressions can also be
generalized to n indeterminates X
1
,..., X
n
, by taking
the field of fractions of F[X
1
,..., X
n
], which is
denoted by F(X
1
,..., X
n
).
An extended version of the abstract idea of rational
function is used in algebraic geometry. There
the function field of an algebraic variety V is
formed as the field of fractions of the coordinate
ring of V (more accurately said, of a Zariski-dense
affine open set in V). Its elements f are considered
as regular functions in the sense of algebraic
geometry on non-empty open sets U, and also
may be seen as morphisms to the projective line.
Applications[edit]
These objects are first encountered in school
algebra. In more advanced mathematics they play
an important role in ring theory, especially in the
construction of field extensions. They also provide
an example of a nonarchimedean
field (see Archimedean property).
Rational functions are used in numerical
analysis for interpolation and approximation of
functions, for example the Pad
approximations introduced by Henri Pad.
Approximations in terms of rational functions are
well suited for computer algebra systems and other
numerical software. Like polynomials, they can be
evaluated straightforwardly, and at the same time
they express more diverse behavior than
polynomials.
Rational functions are used to approximate or
model more complex equations in science and
engineering including (i) fields and forces in
physics, (ii) spectroscopy in analytical chemistry,
(iii) enzyme kinetics in biochemistry, (iv) electronic
circuitry, (v) aerodynamics, (vi) medicine
concentrations in vivo, (vii) wave functions for
atoms and molecules, (viii) optics and photography
to improve image resolution, and (ix) acoustics and
sound.