regex search for all math operators
[*+\/-]+|[A-Za-z]+
This will works. According to @CertainPerformance The performance of that
should be fine. The problem is always when several branches of alternation
start with matching the same content (like a*|aa*, for example). There is no
possibility your two branches will ever both match on the same character,
so that is as good as regex gets.
Also, thanks for your answer @revo.