In mathematics, Q ( 5 ) {\displaystyle \mathbb {Q} {\bigl (}{\sqrt {5}}~\!{\bigr )}} , sometimes called the golden field, is the real quadratic field obtained by extending the rational numbers with the square root of 5. The elements of this field are all of the numbers a + b 5 {\displaystyle a+b{\sqrt {5}}} , where a {\displaystyle a} and b {\displaystyle b} are both rational numbers. As a field, Q ( 5 ) {\displaystyle \mathbb {Q} {\bigl (}{\sqrt {5}}~\!{\bigr )}} supports the same basic arithmetical operations as the rational numbers. The name comes from the golden ratio φ = 1 2 ( 1 + 5 ) {\displaystyle \varphi ={\tfrac {1}{2}}{\bigl (}1+{\sqrt {5}}~\!{\bigr )}} , which is the fundamental unit of Q ( 5 ) {\displaystyle \mathbb {Q} {\bigl (}{\sqrt {5}}~\!{\bigr )}} , and which satisfies the equation φ 2 = φ + 1 {\displaystyle \textstyle \varphi ^{2}=\varphi +1} .
Calculations in the golden field can be used to study the Fibonacci sequence and other topics related to the golden ratio, notably the geometry of the regular pentagon and higher-dimensional shapes with fivefold symmetry.