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Symmetric function

Function that is invariant under all permutations of its variables

Wikipedia contributorsAdapted for Fathomly · View authors
2 min read
Source updated September 12, 2026

In mathematics, a function of n variables is symmetric if its value is the same no matter the order of its arguments. For example, a function f\left(x_{1},x_{2}\right) of two arguments is a symmetric function if and only if f\left(x_{1},x_{2}\right)=f\left(x_{2},x_{1}\right) for all x_{1} and x_{2} such that \left(x_{1},x_{2}\right) and \left(x_{2},x_{1}\right) are in the domain of f. The most commonly encountered symmetric functions are polynomial functions, which are given by the symmetric polynomials.

A related notion is alternating polynomials, which change sign under an interchange of variables. Aside from polynomial functions, tensors that act as functions of several vectors can be symmetric, and in fact the space of symmetric k-tensors on a vector space V is isomorphic to the space of homogeneous polynomials of degree k on V. Symmetric functions should not be confused with even and odd functions, which have a different sort of symmetry.

01Symmetrization

Given any function f in n variables with values in an abelian group, a symmetric function can be constructed by summing values of f over all permutations of the arguments. Similarly, an anti-symmetric function can be constructed by summing over even permutations and subtracting the sum over odd permutations. These operations are of course not invertible, and could well result in a function that is identically zero for nontrivial functions f. The only general case where f can be recovered if both its symmetrization and antisymmetrization are known is when n=2 and the abelian group admits a division by 2 (inverse of doubling); then f is equal to half the sum of its symmetrization and its antisymmetrization.

02Examples

  • Consider the real function f(x_{1},x_{2},x_{3})=(x-x_{1})(x-x_{2})(x-x_{3}). By definition, a symmetric function with n variables has the property that f(x_{1},x_{2},\ldots ,x_{n})=f(x_{2},x_{1},\ldots ,x_{n})=f(x_{3},x_{1},\ldots ,x_{n},x_{n-1}),\quad {\text{ etc.}} In general, the function remains the same for every permutation of its variables. This means that, in this case, (x-x_{1})(x-x_{2})(x-x_{3})=(x-x_{2})(x-x_{1})(x-x_{3})=(x-x_{3})(x-x_{1})(x-x_{2}) and so on, for all permutations of x_{1},x_{2},x_{3}.
  • Consider the function f(x,y)=x^{2}+y^{2}-r^{2}. If x and y are interchanged the function becomes f(y,x)=y^{2}+x^{2}-r^{2}, which yields exactly the same results as the original f(x,y).
  • Consider now the function f(x,y)=ax^{2}+by^{2}-r^{2}. If x and y are interchanged, the function becomes f(y,x)=ay^{2}+bx^{2}-r^{2}. This function is not the same as the original if a\neq b, which makes it non-symmetric.

03Applications

U-statistics

In statistics, an n-sample statistic (a function in n variables) that is obtained by bootstrapping symmetrization of a k-sample statistic, yielding a symmetric function in n variables, is called a U-statistic. Examples include the sample mean and sample variance.

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Sources and credits

This article is adapted from the Wikipedia article “Symmetric function”, written by its contributors and licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Fathomly has changed the layout, removed citation markers, navigation and maintenance notices, and adjusted punctuation. This adapted version is shared under the same license. For references, see the original article.

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Related topics

Alternating polynomial

In algebra, an alternating polynomial is a polynomial f {\displaystyle f(x_{1},\dots ,x_{n})} such that if one switches any two of the variables, the polynomial changes sign: f ( x 1 , … , x j , … , x i , … , x n ) = − f ( x 1 , … , x i , … , x j , … , x n ) . {\displaystyle f(x_{1},\dots ,x_{j},\dots ,x_{i},\dots ,x_{n})=-f(x_{1},\dots ,x_{i},\dots ,x_{j},\dots ,x_{n}).} Equivalently, if one permutes the variables, the polynomial changes in value by the sign of the permutation: f ( x σ ( 1 ) , … , x σ ( n ) ) = s g n ( σ ) f ( x 1 , … , x n ) .

Commutative property

In mathematics, a binary operation is commutative if changing the order of the operands does not change the result. It is a fundamental property of many binary operations, and many mathematical proofs depend on it.

Elementary symmetric polynomial

In mathematics, specifically in commutative algebra, the elementary symmetric polynomials are one type of basic building block for symmetric polynomials, in the sense that any symmetric polynomial can be expressed as a polynomial in elementary symmetric polynomials. That is, any symmetric polynomial P is given by an expression involving only additions and multiplication of constants and elementary symmetric polynomials.