Partial Fraction - Over The Reals - General Result

General Result

Let ƒ(x) be any rational function over the real numbers. In other words, suppose there exist real polynomials p(x) and q(x)≠ 0, such that

By removing the leading coefficient of q(x), we may assume without loss of generality that q(x) is monic. By the fundamental theorem of algebra, we can write

where a1,..., am, b1,..., bn, c1,..., cn are real numbers with bi2 - 4ci < 0, and j1,..., jm, k1,..., kn are positive integers. The terms (x - ai) are the linear factors of q(x) which correspond to real roots of q(x), and the terms (xi2 + bix + ci) are the irreducible quadratic factors of q(x) which correspond to pairs of complex conjugate roots of q(x).

Then the partial fraction decomposition of ƒ(x) is the following:

Here, P(x) is a (possibly zero) polynomial, and the Air, Bir, and Cir are real constants. There are a number of ways the constants can be found.

The most straightforward method is to multiply through by the common denominator q(x). We then obtain an equation of polynomials whose left-hand side is simply p(x) and whose right-hand side has coefficients which are linear expressions of the constants Air, Bir, and Cir. Since two polynomials are equal if and only if their corresponding coefficients are equal, we can equate the coefficients of like terms. In this way, a system of linear equations is obtained which always has a unique solution. This solution can be found using any of the standard methods of linear algebra.

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