A
symmetric polynomial in variables
x1, ..., xn is a polynomial that is invariant under arbitrary permutations of
x1, ..., xn. Polynomials
The fundamental theorem of symmetric polynomials says that every symmetric polynomial in
x1, ..., xn can be represented as a polynomial in elementary symmetric polynomials in
x1, ..., xn.
When the ordering of variables is fixed, an arbitrary polynomial
f can be uniquely represented as a sum of a symmetric polynomial
p, called the symmetric part of
f, and a remainder
q that does not contain descending monomials. A monomial

is called descending iff
e1≥...≥en.