A root certificate is a specific part of digital certificates. Without the root, you would not be able to authenticate the digital certificate. This is because the root contains the information needed to run the authentication process, and compare the public and private keys. As long as the two keys match, the document is decrypted and access is granted. If they do not match, the document will remain encrypted until the right digital certificate is used.
Complex Formulas Make Altering a Root Certificate Difficult
Altering or changing a root certificate is difficult because of the complex formulas used by the certificate authority when the root is generated. When the root is comparing a private key to a public key, it uses different mathematical formulas. The results of the formula will be the same for both keys. However, it should be noted that while the results are the same, the formula used for reaching the results are different.