Biology and ecology

Decomposition Decomposition or rot is the process by which dead organic substances are broken down into simpler organic or inorganic matter such as carbon dioxide, water, simple sugars and mineral salts. The process is a part of the nutrient cycle and is ...

is the process through which

organic matter Organic matter, organic material, or natural organic matter refers to the large source of carbon-based compounds found within natural and engineered, terrestrial, and aquatic environments. It is matter composed of organic compounds that have c ...

is broken down into simpler molecules. Decomposition, decompose may also refer to:

Chemistry

Chemical decomposition Chemical decomposition, or chemical breakdown, is the process or effect of simplifying a single chemical entity (normal molecule, reaction intermediate, etc.) into two or more fragments. Chemical decomposition is usually regarded and defined as the ...

or analysis, in chemistry, is the fragmentation of a chemical compound into elements or smaller compounds **

Thermal decomposition Thermal decomposition, or thermolysis, is a chemical decomposition caused by heat. The decomposition temperature of a substance is the temperature at which the substance chemically decomposes. The reaction is usually endothermic as heat is req ...

, a chemical decomposition caused by heat

Mathematics

* Doob decomposition of an integrable, discrete-time stochastic process * Doob–Meyer decomposition of a continuous-time sub- or supermartingale *

Hahn decomposition In mathematics, the Hahn decomposition theorem, named after the Austrian mathematician Hans Hahn, states that for any measurable space (X,\Sigma) and any signed measure \mu defined on the \sigma -algebra \Sigma , there exist two \Sigma -me ...

of a measure space *

Hahn–Jordan decomposition In mathematics, the Hahn decomposition theorem, named after the Austrian mathematician Hans Hahn, states that for any measurable space (X,\Sigma) and any signed measure \mu defined on the \sigma -algebra \Sigma , there exist two \Sigma -me ...

of a signed measure *

Helmholtz decomposition In physics and mathematics, in the area of vector calculus, Helmholtz's theorem, also known as the fundamental theorem of vector calculus, states that any sufficiently smooth, rapidly decaying vector field in three dimensions can be resolved in ...

, decomposition of a vector field *

Indecomposability (disambiguation) Indecomposability or indecomposable may refer to any of several subjects in mathematics: * Indecomposable module, in algebra * Indecomposable distribution, in probability * Indecomposable continuum, in topology * Indecomposability (intuitionistic ...

Indecomposable continuum In point-set topology, an indecomposable continuum is a continuum that is indecomposable, i.e. that cannot be expressed as the union of any two of its proper subcontinua. In 1910, L. E. J. Brouwer was the first to describe an indecomposable co ...

Lebesgue's decomposition theorem In mathematics, more precisely in measure theory, Lebesgue's decomposition theorem states that for every two σ-finite signed measures \mu and \nu on a measurable space (\Omega,\Sigma), there exist two σ-finite signed measures \nu_0 and \nu_1 s ...

, decomposition of a measure *

Lie group decomposition {{unreferenced, date=September 2009 In mathematics, Lie group decompositions are used to analyse the structure of Lie groups and associated objects, by showing how they are built up out of subgroups. They are essential technical tools in the repres ...

, used to analyse the structure of Lie groups and associated objects *

Manifold decomposition In topology, a branch of mathematics, a manifold ''M'' may be decomposed or split by writing ''M'' as a combination of smaller pieces. When doing so, one must specify both what those pieces are and how they are put together to form ''M''. Manifol ...

, decomposition of manifolds **

JSJ decomposition In mathematics, the JSJ decomposition, also known as the toral decomposition, is a topological construct given by the following theorem: : Irreducible orientable closed (i.e., compact and without boundary) 3-manifolds have a unique (up to isoto ...

, or

toral decomposition In mathematics, the JSJ decomposition, also known as the toral decomposition, is a topological construct given by the following theorem: :Irreducible orientable closed (i.e., compact and without boundary) 3-manifolds have a unique (up to isoto ...

, a decomposition of 3-manifolds *

Matrix decomposition In the mathematical discipline of linear algebra, a matrix decomposition or matrix factorization is a factorization of a matrix into a product of matrices. There are many different matrix decompositions; each finds use among a particular class of ...

, decomposition of matrices *

Primary decomposition In mathematics, the Lasker–Noether theorem states that every Noetherian ring is a Lasker ring, which means that every ideal can be decomposed as an intersection, called primary decomposition, of finitely many '' primary ideals'' (which are rela ...

, decomposition of ideals into primary ideals *

Vector decomposition In mathematics, a set of vectors in a vector space is called a basis if every element of may be written in a unique way as a finite linear combination of elements of . The coefficients of this linear combination are referred to as componen ...

, decomposition of vectors * Permutation decomposition, decomposition of a permutation into disjoint cycles

Physics

Spinodal decomposition Spinodal decomposition is a mechanism by which a single thermodynamic phase spontaneously separates into two phases (without nucleation). Decomposition occurs when there is no thermodynamic barrier to phase separation. As a result, phase separatio ...

, phase separation mechanism

Other uses

Decomposition (computer science) Decomposition in computer science, also known as factoring, is breaking a complex problem or system into parts that are easier to conceive, understand, program, and maintain. Overview There are different types of decomposition defined in compu ...

, or factoring; the process of breaking a complex problem down into easily understood and achievable parts * Semantic decomposition, used in natural language processing *'' Decompositions: Volume Number One'', the second studio album by American screamo band Circle Takes the Square * ''

Zersetzung ''Zersetzung'' (, German for "decomposition" and "disruption") was a psychological warfare technique used by the Ministry for State Security (''Stasi'') to repress political opponents in East Germany during the 1970s and 1980s. ''Zersetzung' ...

'', or decomposition, a debilitative psychological warfare technique utilised by the Stasi intelligence agency in East Germany

Biology and ecology

Chemistry

Mathematics

Physics

Other uses

See also