Root of Unity

In mathematics, a root of unity, occasionally called a de Moivre number, is any complex number that equals 1 when raised to some integer power n. Roots of unity are used in many branches of mathematics, and are especially important in number theory, the theory of group characters, field theory, and the discrete Fourier transform.

The notion of root of unity also applies to any algebraic ring with a multiplicative identity element, namely a root of unity is any element of finite multiplicative order.

Read more about Root Of Unity:  Definition, Elementary Facts, Examples, Periodicity, Summation, Orthogonality, Cyclotomic Polynomials, Cyclic Groups, Cyclotomic Fields, Root of Unity in Finite Fields

Famous quotes containing the words root of, root and/or unity:

    To those who despair of everything reason cannot provide a faith, but only passion, and in this case it must be the same passion that lay at the root of the despair, namely humiliation and hatred.
    Albert Camus (1913–1960)

    She saw a dust bearing bee sink into the sanctum of a bloom; the thousand sister calxes arch to meet the love embrace and the ecstatic shiver of the tree from root to tiniest branch creaming in every blossom and frothing with delight. So this was a marriage!
    Zora Neale Hurston (1891–1960)

    I therefore, the prisoner in the Lord, beg you to lead a life worthy of the calling to which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, making every effort to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.
    Bible: New Testament, Ephesians 4:1-3.