作辅助行列式D1 =
1 1 1 1 1
a b c d x
a^2 b^2 c^2 d^2 x^2
a^3 b^3 c^3 d^3 x^3
a^4 b^4 c^4 d^4 x^4
此为Vandermonde行列式,故
D1 = (b-a)(c-a)(d-a)(c-b)(d-b)(d-c)(x-a)(x-b)(x-c)(x-d).
又因为行列式D1中x^3的系数-M44即为行列式D
所以
D = -(b-a)(c-a)(d-a)(c-b)(d-b)(d-c)(-a-b-c-d)
= (a-b)(a-c)(a-d)(b-c)(b-d)(c-d)(a+b+c+d).