Hermite–Minkowski Theorem
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Hermite–Minkowski Theorem
In mathematics, especially in algebraic number theory, the Hermite–Minkowski theorem states that for any integer ''N'' there are only finitely many number fields, i.e., finite field extensions ''K'' of the rational numbers Q, such that the discriminant of ''K''/Q is at most ''N''. The theorem is named after Charles Hermite Charles Hermite () FRS FRSE MIAS (24 December 1822 – 14 January 1901) was a French mathematician who did research concerning number theory, quadratic forms, invariant theory, orthogonal polynomials, elliptic functions, and algebra. Hermi ... and Hermann Minkowski. This theorem is a consequence of the estimate for the discriminant : \sqrt \geq \frac\left(\frac\pi4\right)^ where ''n'' is the degree of the field extension, together with Stirling's formula for ''n''!. This inequality also shows that the discriminant of any number field strictly bigger than Q is not ±1, which in turn implies that Q has no unramified extensions. References Sec ...
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Algebraic Number Theory
Algebraic number theory is a branch of number theory that uses the techniques of abstract algebra to study the integers, rational numbers, and their generalizations. Number-theoretic questions are expressed in terms of properties of algebraic objects such as algebraic number fields and their rings of integers, finite fields, and function fields. These properties, such as whether a ring admits unique factorization, the behavior of ideals, and the Galois groups of fields, can resolve questions of primary importance in number theory, like the existence of solutions to Diophantine equations. History of algebraic number theory Diophantus The beginnings of algebraic number theory can be traced to Diophantine equations, named after the 3rd-century Alexandrian mathematician, Diophantus, who studied them and developed methods for the solution of some kinds of Diophantine equations. A typical Diophantine problem is to find two integers ''x'' and ''y'' such that their sum, and th ...
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Number Fields
In mathematics, an algebraic number field (or simply number field) is an extension field K of the field of rational numbers such that the field extension K / \mathbb has finite degree (and hence is an algebraic field extension). Thus K is a field that contains \mathbb and has finite dimension when considered as a vector space over The study of algebraic number fields, and, more generally, of algebraic extensions of the field of rational numbers, is the central topic of algebraic number theory. This study reveals hidden structures behind usual rational numbers, by using algebraic methods. Definition Prerequisites The notion of algebraic number field relies on the concept of a field. A field consists of a set of elements together with two operations, namely addition, and multiplication, and some distributivity assumptions. A prominent example of a field is the field of rational numbers, commonly denoted together with its usual operations of addition and multiplicat ...
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Field Extension
In mathematics, particularly in algebra, a field extension is a pair of fields E\subseteq F, such that the operations of ''E'' are those of ''F'' restricted to ''E''. In this case, ''F'' is an extension field of ''E'' and ''E'' is a subfield of ''F''. For example, under the usual notions of addition and multiplication, the complex numbers are an extension field of the real numbers; the real numbers are a subfield of the complex numbers. Field extensions are fundamental in algebraic number theory, and in the study of polynomial roots through Galois theory, and are widely used in algebraic geometry. Subfield A subfield K of a field L is a subset K\subseteq L that is a field with respect to the field operations inherited from L. Equivalently, a subfield is a subset that contains 1, and is closed under the operations of addition, subtraction, multiplication, and taking the inverse of a nonzero element of K. As , the latter definition implies K and L have the same zero elemen ...
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Discriminant Of An Algebraic Number Field
In mathematics, the discriminant of an algebraic number field is a numerical invariant that, loosely speaking, measures the size of the (ring of integers of the) algebraic number field. More specifically, it is proportional to the squared volume of the fundamental domain of the ring of integers, and it regulates which primes are ramified. The discriminant is one of the most basic invariants of a number field, and occurs in several important analytic formulas such as the functional equation of the Dedekind zeta function of ''K'', and the analytic class number formula for ''K''. A theorem of Hermite states that there are only finitely many number fields of bounded discriminant, however determining this quantity is still an open problem, and the subject of current research. The discriminant of ''K'' can be referred to as the absolute discriminant of ''K'' to distinguish it from the relative discriminant of an extension ''K''/''L'' of number fields. The latter is an ideal ...
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Charles Hermite
Charles Hermite () FRS FRSE MIAS (24 December 1822 – 14 January 1901) was a French mathematician who did research concerning number theory, quadratic forms, invariant theory, orthogonal polynomials, elliptic functions, and algebra. Hermite polynomials, Hermite interpolation, Hermite normal form, Hermitian operators, and cubic Hermite splines are named in his honor. One of his students was Henri Poincaré. He was the first to prove that '' e'', the base of natural logarithms, is a transcendental number. His methods were used later by Ferdinand von Lindemann to prove that π is transcendental. Life Hermite was born in Dieuze, Moselle, on 24 December 1822, with a deformity in his right foot that would impair his gait throughout his life. He was the sixth of seven children of Ferdinand Hermite and his wife, Madeleine née Lallemand. Ferdinand worked in the drapery business of Madeleine's family while also pursuing a career as an artist. The drapery business reloca ...
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Hermann Minkowski
Hermann Minkowski (; ; 22 June 1864 – 12 January 1909) was a German mathematician and professor at Königsberg, Zürich and Göttingen. He created and developed the geometry of numbers and used geometrical methods to solve problems in number theory, mathematical physics, and the theory of relativity. Minkowski is perhaps best known for his foundational work describing space and time as a four-dimensional space, now known as " Minkowski spacetime", which facilitated geometric interpretations of Albert Einstein's special theory of relativity (1905). Personal life and family Hermann Minkowski was born in the town of Aleksota, the Suwałki Governorate, the Kingdom of Poland, part of the Russian Empire, to Lewin Boruch Minkowski, a merchant who subsidized the building of the choral synagogue in Kovno, and Rachel Taubmann, both of Jewish descent. Hermann was a younger brother of the medical researcher Oskar (born 1858). In different sources Minkowski's nationality is var ...
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Stirling's Formula
In mathematics, Stirling's approximation (or Stirling's formula) is an approximation for factorials. It is a good approximation, leading to accurate results even for small values of n. It is named after James Stirling, though a related but less precise result was first stated by Abraham de Moivre. One way of stating the approximation involves the logarithm of the factorial: \ln(n!) = n\ln n - n +O(\ln n), where the big O notation means that, for all sufficiently large values of n, the difference between \ln(n!) and n\ln n-n will be at most proportional to the logarithm. In computer science applications such as the worst-case lower bound for comparison sorting, it is convenient to use instead the binary logarithm, giving the equivalent form \log_2 (n!) = n\log_2 n - n\log_2 e +O(\log_2 n). The error term in either base can be expressed more precisely as \tfrac12\log(2\pi n)+O(\tfrac1n), corresponding to an approximate formula for the factorial itself, n! \sim \sqrt\left(\frac\ ...
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Splitting Of Prime Ideals In Galois Extensions
In mathematics, the interplay between the Galois group ''G'' of a Galois extension ''L'' of a number field ''K'', and the way the prime ideals ''P'' of the ring of integers ''O''''K'' factorise as products of prime ideals of ''O''''L'', provides one of the richest parts of algebraic number theory. The splitting of prime ideals in Galois extensions is sometimes attributed to David Hilbert by calling it Hilbert theory. There is a geometric analogue, for ramified coverings of Riemann surfaces, which is simpler in that only one kind of subgroup of ''G'' need be considered, rather than two. This was certainly familiar before Hilbert. Definitions Let ''L''/''K'' be a finite extension of number fields, and let ''OK'' and ''OL'' be the corresponding ring of integers of ''K'' and ''L'', respectively, which are defined to be the integral closure of the integers Z in the field in question. : \begin O_K & \hookrightarrow & O_L \\ \downarrow & & \downarrow \\ K & \hookrightarrow & L \end ...
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