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P-adic Number
In mathematics, the -adic number system for any prime number extends the ordinary arithmetic of the rational numbers in a different way from the extension of the rational number system to the real and complex number systems. The extension is achieved by an alternative interpretation of the concept of "closeness" or absolute value. In particular, two -adic numbers are considered to be close when their difference is divisible by a high power of : the higher the power, the closer they are. This property enables -adic numbers to encode congruence information in a way that turns out to have powerful applications in number theory – including, for example, in the famous proof of Fermat's Last Theorem by Andrew Wiles. These numbers were first described by Kurt Hensel in 1897, though, with hindsight, some of Ernst Kummer's earlier work can be interpreted as implicitly using -adic numbers.Translator's introductionpage 35 "Indeed, with hindsight it becomes apparent that a d ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
3-adic Integers With Dual Colorings
In mathematics, the -adic number system for any prime number extends the ordinary arithmetic of the rational numbers in a different way from the extension of the rational number system to the real and complex number systems. The extension is achieved by an alternative interpretation of the concept of "closeness" or absolute value. In particular, two -adic numbers are considered to be close when their difference is divisible by a high power of : the higher the power, the closer they are. This property enables -adic numbers to encode congruence information in a way that turns out to have powerful applications in number theory – including, for example, in the famous proof of Fermat's Last Theorem by Andrew Wiles. These numbers were first described by Kurt Hensel in 1897, though, with hindsight, some of Ernst Kummer's earlier work can be interpreted as implicitly using -adic numbers.Translator's introductionpage 35 "Indeed, with hindsight it becomes apparent that a dis ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ernst Kummer
Ernst Eduard Kummer (29 January 1810 – 14 May 1893) was a German mathematician A mathematician is someone who uses an extensive knowledge of mathematics in their work, typically to solve mathematical problems. Mathematicians are concerned with numbers, data, quantity, structure, space, models, and change. History On .... Skilled in applied mathematics, Kummer trained German army officers in ballistics; afterwards, he taught for 10 years in a ''Gymnasium (school), gymnasium'', the German equivalent of high school, where he inspired the mathematical career of Leopold Kronecker. Life Kummer was born in Sorau, Province of Brandenburg, Brandenburg (then part of Prussia). He was awarded a PhD from the University of Halle in 1831 for writing a prize-winning mathematical essay (''De cosinuum et sinuum potestatibus secundum cosinus et sinus arcuum multiplicium evolvendis''), which was eventually published a year later. In 1840, Kummer married Ottilie Mendelssohn, daughter of N ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Convergent Sequence
As the positive integer n becomes larger and larger, the value n\cdot \sin\left(\tfrac1\right) becomes arbitrarily close to 1. We say that "the limit of the sequence n\cdot \sin\left(\tfrac1\right) equals 1." In mathematics, the limit of a sequence is the value that the terms of a sequence "tend to", and is often denoted using the \lim symbol (e.g., \lim_a_n).Courant (1961), p. 29. If such a limit exists, the sequence is called convergent. A sequence that does not converge is said to be divergent. The limit of a sequence is said to be the fundamental notion on which the whole of mathematical analysis ultimately rests. Limits can be defined in any metric or topological space, but are usually first encountered in the real numbers. History The Greek philosopher Zeno of Elea is famous for formulating paradoxes that involve limiting processes. Leucippus, Democritus, Antiphon, Eudoxus, and Archimedes developed the method of exhaustion, which uses an infinite sequence of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cauchy Sequence
In mathematics, a Cauchy sequence (; ), named after Augustin-Louis Cauchy, is a sequence whose elements become arbitrarily close to each other as the sequence progresses. More precisely, given any small positive distance, all but a finite number of elements of the sequence are less than that given distance from each other. It is not sufficient for each term to become arbitrarily close to the term. For instance, in the sequence of square roots of natural numbers: a_n=\sqrt n, the consecutive terms become arbitrarily close to each other: a_-a_n = \sqrt-\sqrt = \frac d. (Actually, any m > \left(\sqrt + d\right)^2 suffices.) As a result, despite how far one goes, the remaining terms of the sequence never get close to ; hence the sequence is not Cauchy. The utility of Cauchy sequences lies in the fact that in a complete metric space (one where all such sequences are known to converge to a limit), the criterion for convergence depends only on the terms of the sequence itself, as ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Completeness (topology)
In mathematical analysis, a metric space is called complete (or a Cauchy space) if every Cauchy sequence of points in has a limit that is also in . Intuitively, a space is complete if there are no "points missing" from it (inside or at the boundary). For instance, the set of rational numbers is not complete, because e.g. \sqrt is "missing" from it, even though one can construct a Cauchy sequence of rational numbers that converges to it (see further examples below). It is always possible to "fill all the holes", leading to the ''completion'' of a given space, as explained below. Definition Cauchy sequence A sequence x_1, x_2, x_3, \ldots in a metric space (X, d) is called Cauchy if for every positive real number r > 0 there is a positive integer N such that for all positive integers m, n > N, d\left(x_m, x_n\right) < r. Complete space A metric space is complete if any of the following equivalent conditions are satisfied: :#Every [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Valuation (algebra)
In algebra (in particular in algebraic geometry or algebraic number theory), a valuation is a function on a field that provides a measure of size or multiplicity of elements of the field. It generalizes to commutative algebra the notion of size inherent in consideration of the degree of a pole or multiplicity of a zero in complex analysis, the degree of divisibility of a number by a prime number in number theory, and the geometrical concept of contact between two algebraic or analytic varieties in algebraic geometry. A field with a valuation on it is called a valued field. Definition One starts with the following objects: *a field and its multiplicative group ''K''×, *an abelian totally ordered group . The ordering and group law on are extended to the set by the rules * for all ∈ , * for all ∈ . Then a valuation of is any map : which satisfies the following properties for all ''a'', ''b'' in ''K'': * if and only if , *, *, with equality if ''v''(''a'') ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
P-adic Order
In number theory, the valuation or -adic order of an integer is the exponent of the highest power of the prime number that divides . It is denoted \nu_p(n). Equivalently, \nu_p(n) is the exponent to which p appears in the prime factorization of n. The -adic valuation is a valuation and gives rise to an analogue of the usual absolute value. Whereas the completion of the rational numbers with respect to the usual absolute value results in the real numbers \mathbb, the completion of the rational numbers with respect to the p-adic absolute value results in the numbers \mathbb_p. Definition and properties Let be a prime number. Integers The -adic valuation of an integer n is defined to be : \nu_p(n)= \begin \mathrm\ & \text n \neq 0\\ \infty & \text n=0, \end where \mathbb denotes the set of natural numbers and m \mid n denotes divisibility of n by m. In particular, \nu_p is a function \nu_p \colon \mathbb \to \mathbb \cup\ . For example, \nu_2(-12) = 2, \nu_3(-12) = 1, and ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Metric Space
In mathematics, a metric space is a set together with a notion of '' distance'' between its elements, usually called points. The distance is measured by a function called a metric or distance function. Metric spaces are the most general setting for studying many of the concepts of mathematical analysis and geometry. The most familiar example of a metric space is 3-dimensional Euclidean space with its usual notion of distance. Other well-known examples are a sphere equipped with the angular distance and the hyperbolic plane. A metric may correspond to a metaphorical, rather than physical, notion of distance: for example, the set of 100-character Unicode strings can be equipped with the Hamming distance, which measures the number of characters that need to be changed to get from one string to another. Since they are very general, metric spaces are a tool used in many different branches of mathematics. Many types of mathematical objects have a natural notion of distance an ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Topological Space
In mathematics, a topological space is, roughly speaking, a geometrical space in which closeness is defined but cannot necessarily be measured by a numeric distance. More specifically, a topological space is a set whose elements are called points, along with an additional structure called a topology, which can be defined as a set of neighbourhoods for each point that satisfy some axioms formalizing the concept of closeness. There are several equivalent definitions of a topology, the most commonly used of which is the definition through open sets, which is easier than the others to manipulate. A topological space is the most general type of a mathematical space that allows for the definition of limits, continuity, and connectedness. Common types of topological spaces include Euclidean spaces, metric spaces and manifolds. Although very general, the concept of topological spaces is fundamental, and used in virtually every branch of modern mathematics. The study of topolog ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Complete Space
In mathematical analysis, a metric space is called complete (or a Cauchy space) if every Cauchy sequence of points in has a limit that is also in . Intuitively, a space is complete if there are no "points missing" from it (inside or at the boundary). For instance, the set of rational numbers is not complete, because e.g. \sqrt is "missing" from it, even though one can construct a Cauchy sequence of rational numbers that converges to it (see further examples below). It is always possible to "fill all the holes", leading to the ''completion'' of a given space, as explained below. Definition Cauchy sequence A sequence x_1, x_2, x_3, \ldots in a metric space (X, d) is called Cauchy if for every positive real number r > 0 there is a positive integer N such that for all positive integers m, n > N, d\left(x_m, x_n\right) < r. Complete space A metric space is complete if any of the following equivalent conditions are satisfied: :#Every [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Field (mathematics)
In mathematics, a field is a set on which addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division are defined and behave as the corresponding operations on rational and real numbers do. A field is thus a fundamental algebraic structure which is widely used in algebra, number theory, and many other areas of mathematics. The best known fields are the field of rational numbers, the field of real numbers and the field of complex numbers. Many other fields, such as fields of rational functions, algebraic function fields, algebraic number fields, and ''p''-adic fields are commonly used and studied in mathematics, particularly in number theory and algebraic geometry. Most cryptographic protocols rely on finite fields, i.e., fields with finitely many elements. The relation of two fields is expressed by the notion of a field extension. Galois theory, initiated by Évariste Galois in the 1830s, is devoted to understanding the symmetries of field extensions. Among other ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Calculus
Calculus, originally called infinitesimal calculus or "the calculus of infinitesimals", is the mathematics, mathematical study of continuous change, in the same way that geometry is the study of shape, and algebra is the study of generalizations of arithmetic operations. It has two major branches, differential calculus and integral calculus; the former concerns instantaneous Rate of change (mathematics), rates of change, and the slopes of curves, while the latter concerns accumulation of quantities, and areas under or between curves. These two branches are related to each other by the fundamental theorem of calculus, and they make use of the fundamental notions of convergence (mathematics), convergence of infinite sequences and Series (mathematics), infinite series to a well-defined limit (mathematics), limit. Infinitesimal calculus was developed independently in the late 17th century by Isaac Newton and Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz. Later work, including (ε, δ)-definition of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
