[R] Finding determinants of x-loaded matrix?

[David Winsemius]

On Mar 20, 2009, at 9:09 AM, Bob Gotwals wrote:
>
> I need to find the determinant of this matrix
>
> x 1 0 0
> 1 x 1 0
> 0 1 x 1
> 0 0 1 x
>
> det yields x^4-3x^2+1
>
> I can then use polyroot to find the roots of the coefficients.
>
> The question is about the use of "x", which is what I'm solving for.

If you are asking how to use R for symbolic algebra, then the answer  
might be investigate package Ryacas.

>

David Winsemius, MD
Heritage Laboratories
West Hartford, CT