Branches of Mathematics
Number Theory
Also Known As Higher Arithmetic
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The study of the integers, especially the primes, and their properties: divisibility, factorization, the distribution of primes, and the solutions (or lack of solutions) to equations in whole numbers, Diophantine equations. Long prized, in G. H. Hardy's own famous phrase, for its purity and freedom from any application, number theory became foundational to modern cryptography (RSA encryption rests directly on the difficulty of factoring large primes) in the twentieth century. Its lineage is not only Greek and European: the technique now called the Chinese remainder theorem, for solving simultaneous congruences, first appears in the third to fifth century Chinese text Sunzi Suanjing, centuries before it entered the European tradition, and Indian mathematicians including Brahmagupta and Bhaskara II developed their own systematic methods for Diophantine equations independently of the Greek tradition.
Facts
Central QuestionWhat are the properties of the whole numbers, above all the primes, and how are they distributed and related to one another? 1 Key DebateWhether number theory's famous claimed purity, Hardy's 1940 boast in A Mathematician's Apology that it had no practical application and never would, survived the rise, within decades of his death, of cryptographic systems (RSA foremost) built directly on the hardness of prime factorization. 1 Cross-Tradition Connections
Associated With
Includes
Co-formulated the Birch and Swinnerton-Dyer conjecture on elliptic curves, one of number theory's Millennium Prize problems.
Formulated the abc conjecture (with Joseph Oesterle) and works on transcendental number theory and Diophantine approximation.
Works in number theory and arithmetic geometry; developed inter-universal Teichmuller theory in pursuit of the abc conjecture.
Primary research area per his own faculty profile: Diophantine approximation and algebraic number theory, alongside cryptography.
Sources
1. MacTutor History of Mathematics Archive
University of St Andrews, School of Mathematics and Statisticshttps://mathshistory.st-andrews.ac.uk/HistTopics/Fermat's_last_theorem/Quote, https://mathshistory.st-andrews.ac.uk/HistTopics/Fermat's_last_theorem/
I have discovered a truly remarkable proof which this margin is too small to contain.
View the Source 1. MacTutor History of Mathematics Archive
University of St Andrews, School of Mathematics and StatisticsAssociated With: Pierre de Fermat, https://mathshistory.st-andrews.ac.uk/Biographies/Fermat/Quote, Associated With: Pierre de Fermat, https://mathshistory.st-andrews.ac.uk/Biographies/Fermat/
Fermat is best remembered for this work in number theory, in particular for Fermat's Last Theorem.
View the Source Number Theory (Wikipedia)
Wikimedia FoundationDefinition sectionQuote, Definition section
Number theory is the branch of mathematics that studies integers and their properties and relations.
View the Source Prime Number Theorem (Wikipedia)
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It formalizes the intuitive idea that primes become less common as they become larger by precisely quantifying the rate at which this occurs.
View the Source Chinese Remainder Theorem (Wikipedia)
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if one knows the remainders of the Euclidean division of an integer n by several integers, then one can determine uniquely the remainder of the division of n by the product of these integers
View the Source Legendre's Conjecture (Wikipedia)
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The conjecture is one of Landau's problems (1912) on prime numbers
View the Source Beal Conjecture (Wikipedia)
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The Beal conjecture is the following conjecture in number theory
View the Source Bryan Birch (Wikipedia)
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Born (1931-09-25) 25 September 1931 (age 94) Burton-upon-Trent, England ... Awards Senior Whitehead Prize (1993) De Morgan Medal (2007) Sylvester Medal (2020)
View the Source David Masser (Wikipedia)
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David William Masser is professor emeritus in the Department of Mathematics and Computer Science at the University of Basel. He is known for his work in transcendental number theory, Diophantine approximation, and Diophantine geometry. With Joseph Oesterle in 1985, Masser formulated the abc conjecture, which has been called the most important unsolved problem in Diophantine analysis.
View the Source Shinichi Mochizuki (Wikipedia)
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Shinichi Mochizuki is a Japanese mathematician working in number theory and arithmetic geometry. He is one of the main contributors to anabelian geometry.
View the Source Thomas Cusick, Faculty Page, University at Buffalo
University at Buffalo, Department of MathematicsIncludes: Thomas W. Cusick, Research Summary sectionQuote, Includes: Thomas W. Cusick, Research Summary section
Tom Cusick's research is in cryptography, especially Boolean function applications; number theory, particularly Diophantine approximation and algebraic number theory; and combinatorics.
View the Source Fundamental Theorem of Arithmetic (Wikipedia)
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every integer greater than 1 can be represented uniquely as a product of prime numbers
View the Source Euclid's Theorem (Wikipedia)
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Euclid's theorem is a fundamental statement in number theory that asserts that there are infinitely many prime numbers.
View the Source Wikipedia: Twin Prime
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The question of whether there exist infinitely many twin primes has been one of the great open questions in number theory for many years.
View the Source Goldbach's Conjecture (Wikipedia)
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one of the oldest and best-known unsolved problems in number theory and all of mathematics
View the Source Collatz Conjecture (Wikipedia)
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Unsolved problems in number theory
View the Source Riemann Hypothesis (Wikipedia)
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It is of great interest in number theory because it implies results about the distribution of prime numbers.
View the Source Birch and Swinnerton-Dyer Conjecture (Wikipedia)
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the Birch and Swinnerton-Dyer conjecture describes the set of rational solutions to equations defining an elliptic curve. It is an open problem in the field of number theory
View the Source Erdos-Straus Conjecture (Wikipedia)
WikipediaIncludes: Erdos-Straus Conjecture, Opening paragraphQuote, Includes: Erdos-Straus Conjecture, Opening paragraph
The Erdos-Straus conjecture is an unproven statement in number theory.
View the Source Wikipedia: Fermat's Last Theorem
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In number theory, Fermat's Last Theorem (sometimes called Fermat's conjecture, especially in older texts) states that there are no positive integers a, b, c, n with n > 2 such that a^n + b^n = c^n.
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