Description
Book SynopsisUpdated to reflect current research and extended to cover more advanced topics as well as the basics, Algebraic Number Theory and Fermatâs Last Theorem, Fifth Edition introduces fundamental ideas of algebraic numbers and explores one of the most intriguing stories in the history of mathematicsâthe quest for a proof of Fermatâs Last Theorem. The authors use this celebrated theorem to motivate a general study of the theory of algebraic numbers, initially from a relatively concrete point of view. Students will see how Wilesâs proof of Fermatâs Last Theorem opened many new areas for future work.
New to the Fifth Edition
- Pell's Equation x^2-dy^2=1: all solutions can be obtained from a single `fundamental' solution, which can be found using continued fractions.
- Galois theory of number field extensions, relating the field structure to that of the group of automorphisms.
- More material on cyclotomic fields, and some results on cubic fields
