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Sophie Germain's Theorem
In number theory, Sophie Germain's theorem is a statement about the divisibility of solutions to the equation x^p + y^p = z^p of Fermat's Last Theorem for odd prime p. Formal statement Specifically, Sophie Germain proved that at least one of the numbers x, y, z must be divisible by p^2 if an auxiliary prime q can be found such that two conditions are satisfied: # No two nonzero p^ powers differ by one modulo q; and # p is itself not a p^ power modulo q. Conversely, the first case of Fermat's Last Theorem (the case in which p does not divide xyz) must hold for every prime p for which even one auxiliary prime can be found. History Germain identified such an auxiliary prime q for every prime less than 100. The theorem and its application to primes p less than 100 were attributed to Germain by Adrien-Marie Legendre Adrien-Marie Legendre (; ; 18 September 1752 – 9 January 1833) was a French people, French mathematician who made numerous contributions to mathematics. Well-known ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Number Theory
Number theory is a branch of pure mathematics devoted primarily to the study of the integers and arithmetic functions. Number theorists study prime numbers as well as the properties of mathematical objects constructed from integers (for example, rational numbers), or defined as generalizations of the integers (for example, algebraic integers). Integers can be considered either in themselves or as solutions to equations (Diophantine geometry). Questions in number theory can often be understood through the study of Complex analysis, analytical objects, such as the Riemann zeta function, that encode properties of the integers, primes or other number-theoretic objects in some fashion (analytic number theory). One may also study real numbers in relation to rational numbers, as for instance how irrational numbers can be approximated by fractions (Diophantine approximation). Number theory is one of the oldest branches of mathematics alongside geometry. One quirk of number theory is ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Fermat's Last Theorem
In number theory, Fermat's Last Theorem (sometimes called Fermat's conjecture, especially in older texts) states that no three positive number, positive integers , , and satisfy the equation for any integer value of greater than . The cases and have been known since antiquity to have infinitely many solutions.Singh, pp. 18–20 The proposition was first stated as a theorem by Pierre de Fermat around 1637 in the margin of a copy of ''Arithmetica''. Fermat added that he had a proof that was too large to fit in the margin. Although other statements claimed by Fermat without proof were subsequently proven by others and credited as theorems of Fermat (for example, Fermat's theorem on sums of two squares), Fermat's Last Theorem resisted proof, leading to doubt that Fermat ever had a correct proof. Consequently, the proposition became known as a conjecture rather than a theorem. After 358 years of effort by mathematicians, Wiles's proof of Fermat's Last Theorem, the first success ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sophie Germain
Marie-Sophie Germain (; 1 April 1776 – 27 June 1831) was a French mathematician, physicist, and philosopher. Despite initial opposition from her parents and difficulties presented by society, she gained education from books in her father's library, including ones by Euler, and from correspondence with famous mathematicians such as Lagrange, Legendre, and Gauss (under the pseudonym of Monsieur Le Blanc). One of the pioneers of elasticity theory, she won the grand prize from the Paris Academy of Sciences for her essay on the subject. Her work on Fermat's Last Theorem provided a foundation for mathematicians exploring the subject for hundreds of years after. Because of prejudice against her sex, she was unable to make a career out of mathematics, but she worked independently throughout her life. Before her death, Gauss had recommended that she be awarded an honorary degree, but that never occurred. On 27 June 1831, she died from breast cancer. At the centenary of her life, a stree ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Modular Arithmetic
In mathematics, modular arithmetic is a system of arithmetic operations for integers, other than the usual ones from elementary arithmetic, where numbers "wrap around" when reaching a certain value, called the modulus. The modern approach to modular arithmetic was developed by Carl Friedrich Gauss in his book '' Disquisitiones Arithmeticae'', published in 1801. A familiar example of modular arithmetic is the hour hand on a 12-hour clock. If the hour hand points to 7 now, then 8 hours later it will point to 3. Ordinary addition would result in , but 15 reads as 3 on the clock face. This is because the hour hand makes one rotation every 12 hours and the hour number starts over when the hour hand passes 12. We say that 15 is ''congruent'' to 3 modulo 12, written 15 ≡ 3 (mod 12), so that 7 + 8 ≡ 3 (mod 12). Similarly, if one starts at 12 and waits 8 hours, the hour hand will be at 8. If one instead waited twice as long, 16 hours, the hour hand would be on 4. This ca ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Adrien-Marie Legendre
Adrien-Marie Legendre (; ; 18 September 1752 – 9 January 1833) was a French people, French mathematician who made numerous contributions to mathematics. Well-known and important concepts such as the Legendre polynomials and Legendre transformation are named after him. He is also known for his contributions to the Least squares, method of least squares, and was the first to officially publish on it, though Carl Friedrich Gauss had discovered it before him. Life Adrien-Marie Legendre was born in Paris on 18 September 1752 to a wealthy family. He received his education at the Collège Mazarin in Paris, and defended his thesis in physics and mathematics in 1770. He taught at the École Militaire in Paris from 1775 to 1780 and at the École Normale Supérieure, École Normale from 1795. At the same time, he was associated with the Bureau des Longitudes. In 1782, the Prussian Academy of Sciences, Berlin Academy awarded Legendre a prize for his treatise on projectiles in resistant m ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Theorems In Number Theory
In mathematics and formal logic, a theorem is a statement that has been proven, or can be proven. The ''proof'' of a theorem is a logical argument that uses the inference rules of a deductive system to establish that the theorem is a logical consequence of the axioms and previously proved theorems. In mainstream mathematics, the axioms and the inference rules are commonly left implicit, and, in this case, they are almost always those of Zermelo–Fraenkel set theory with the axiom of choice (ZFC), or of a less powerful theory, such as Peano arithmetic. Generally, an assertion that is explicitly called a theorem is a proved result that is not an immediate consequence of other known theorems. Moreover, many authors qualify as ''theorems'' only the most important results, and use the terms ''lemma'', ''proposition'' and ''corollary'' for less important theorems. In mathematical logic, the concepts of theorems and proofs have been formalized in order to allow mathematical reasoni ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
