Editing Polynomial (section)

=== Other applications ===
Polynomials are frequently used to encode information about some other object. The [[characteristic polynomial]] of a matrix or linear operator contains information about the operator's [[eigenvalue]]s. The [[minimal polynomial (field theory)|minimal polynomial]] of an [[algebraic element]] records the simplest algebraic relation satisfied by that element. The [[chromatic polynomial]] of a [[graph (discrete mathematics)|graph]] counts the number of proper colourings of that graph.

The term "polynomial", as an adjective, can also be used for quantities or functions that can be written in polynomial form. For example, in [[computational complexity theory]] the phrase ''[[polynomial time]]'' means that the time it takes to complete an [[algorithm]] is bounded by a polynomial function of some variable, such as the size of the input.