Number theory

Euclid (Ancient Greek: Εὐκλείδης – Eukleídēs, fl. 300 BC), sometimes called Euclid of Alexandria to distinguish him from Euclid of Megara, was a Greek mathematician, often referred to as the "founder of geometry" or the "father of geometry". He was active in Alexandria during the reign of Ptolemy I (323–283 BC). His Elements is one of the most influential works in the history of mathematics, serving as the main textbook for teaching mathematics (especially geometry) from the time of its publication until the late 19th or early 20th century. In the Elements, Euclid deduced the theorems of what is now called Euclidean geometry from a small set of axioms. Euclid also wrote works on perspective, conic sections, spherical geometry, number theory, and mathematical rigour.

In number theory, given a prime number p, the p-adic numbers form an extension of the rational numbers which is distinct from the real numbers, though with some similar properties; p-adic numbers can be written in a form similar to (possibly infinite) decimals, but with digits based on a prime number p rather than ten, and extending to the left rather than to the right.

Number theory is a branch of pure mathematics devoted primarily to the study of the integers and arithmetic functions. German mathematician Carl Friedrich Gauss (1777–1855) said, "Mathematics is the queen of the sciences—and number theory is the queen of mathematics." 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).

Maria Heep-Altiner (born 29 December 1959 in Niederzeuzheim) is a German mathematician, actuary and university lecturer.

The Journal of Number Theory (JNT) is a monthly peer-reviewed scientific journal covering all aspects of number theory. The journal was established in 1969 by R.P. Bambah, P. Roquette, A. Ross, A. Woods, and H. Zassenhaus (Ohio State University). It is currently published monthly by Elsevier and the editor-in-chief is Dorian Goldfeld (Columbia University). According to the Journal Citation Reports, the journal has a 2022 impact factor of 0.7.

In mathematics and computer science, computational number theory, also known as algorithmic number theory, is the study of computational methods for investigating and solving problems in number theory and arithmetic geometry, including algorithms for primality testing and integer factorization, finding solutions to diophantine equations, and explicit methods in arithmetic geometry. Computational number theory has applications to cryptography, including RSA, elliptic curve cryptography and post-quantum cryptography, and is used to investigate conjectures and open problems in number theory, including the Riemann hypothesis, the Birch and Swinnerton-Dyer conjecture, the ABC conjecture, the modularity conjecture, the Sato-Tate conjecture, and explicit aspects of the Langlands program.

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.

The Ribenboim Prize, named in honour of Paulo Ribenboim, is awarded by the Canadian Number Theory Association for distinguished research in number theory by a mathematician who is Canadian or has close connections to Canadian mathematics. Normally the winner will have received their Ph.D. in the last 12 years. The winner is expected to give a plenary talk at the award ceremony.

In number theory, the Stern–Brocot tree is an infinite complete binary tree in which the vertices correspond one-for-one to the positive rational numbers, whose values are ordered from the left to the right as in a search tree.

The Frank Nelson Cole Prize, or Cole Prize for short, is one of two prizes awarded to mathematicians by the American Mathematical Society, one for an outstanding contribution to algebra, and the other for an outstanding contribution to number theory. The prize is named after Frank Nelson Cole, who served the Society for 25 years. The Cole Prize in algebra was funded by Cole himself, from funds given to him as a retirement gift; the prize fund was later augmented by his son, leading to the double award.