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Class Group
In number theory, the ideal class group (or class group) of an algebraic number field is the quotient group where is the group of fractional ideals of the ring of integers of , and is its subgroup of principal ideals. The class group is a measure of the extent to which unique factorization fails in the ring of integers of . The order of the group, which is finite, is called the class number of . The theory extends to Dedekind domains and their field of fractions, for which the multiplicative properties are intimately tied to the structure of the class group. For example, the class group of a Dedekind domain is trivial if and only if the ring is a unique factorization domain. History and origin of the ideal class group Ideal class groups (or, rather, what were effectively ideal class groups) were studied some time before the idea of an ideal was formulated. These groups appeared in the theory of quadratic forms: in the case of binary integral quadratic forms, as put into s ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Number Theory
Number theory (or arithmetic or higher arithmetic in older usage) is a branch of pure mathematics devoted primarily to the study of the integers and arithmetic function, integer-valued functions. German mathematician Carl Friedrich Gauss (1777–1855) said, "Mathematics is the queen of the sciences—and number theory is the queen of mathematics."German original: "Die Mathematik ist die Königin der Wissenschaften, und die Arithmetik ist die Königin der Mathematik." Number theorists study prime numbers as well as the properties of mathematical objects made out of 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 are often best understood through the study of Complex analysis, analytical objects (for example, the Riemann zeta function) that encode properties of the integers, primes ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Roots Of Unity
In mathematics, a root of unity, occasionally called a de Moivre number, is any complex number that yields 1 when raised to some positive integer power . Roots of unity are used in many branches of mathematics, and are especially important in number theory, the theory of group characters, and the discrete Fourier transform. Roots of unity can be defined in any field. If the characteristic of the field is zero, the roots are complex numbers that are also algebraic integers. For fields with a positive characteristic, the roots belong to a finite field, and, conversely, every nonzero element of a finite field is a root of unity. Any algebraically closed field contains exactly th roots of unity, except when is a multiple of the (positive) characteristic of the field. General definition An ''th root of unity'', where is a positive integer, is a number satisfying the equation :z^n = 1. Unless otherwise specified, the roots of unity may be taken to be complex numbers (incl ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Commutative
In mathematics, a binary operation is commutative if changing the order of the operands does not change the result. It is a fundamental property of many binary operations, and many mathematical proofs depend on it. Most familiar as the name of the property that says something like or , the property can also be used in more advanced settings. The name is needed because there are operations, such as division and subtraction, that do not have it (for example, ); such operations are ''not'' commutative, and so are referred to as ''noncommutative operations''. The idea that simple operations, such as the multiplication and addition of numbers, are commutative was for many years implicitly assumed. Thus, this property was not named until the 19th century, when mathematics started to become formalized. A similar property exists for binary relations; a binary relation is said to be symmetric if the relation applies regardless of the order of its operands; for example, equality is ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Equivalence Class
In mathematics, when the elements of some set S have a notion of equivalence (formalized as an equivalence relation), then one may naturally split the set S into equivalence classes. These equivalence classes are constructed so that elements a and b belong to the same equivalence class if, and only if, they are equivalent. Formally, given a set S and an equivalence relation \,\sim\, on S, the of an element a in S, denoted by is the set \ of elements which are equivalent to a. It may be proven, from the defining properties of equivalence relations, that the equivalence classes form a partition of S. This partition—the set of equivalence classes—is sometimes called the quotient set or the quotient space of S by \,\sim\,, and is denoted by S / \sim. When the set S has some structure (such as a group operation or a topology) and the equivalence relation \,\sim\, is compatible with this structure, the quotient set often inherits a similar structure from its parent set. Examp ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Equivalence Relation
In mathematics, an equivalence relation is a binary relation that is reflexive, symmetric and transitive. The equipollence relation between line segments in geometry is a common example of an equivalence relation. Each equivalence relation provides a partition of the underlying set into disjoint equivalence classes. Two elements of the given set are equivalent to each other if and only if they belong to the same equivalence class. Notation Various notations are used in the literature to denote that two elements a and b of a set are equivalent with respect to an equivalence relation R; the most common are "a \sim b" and "", which are used when R is implicit, and variations of "a \sim_R b", "", or "" to specify R explicitly. Non-equivalence may be written "" or "a \not\equiv b". Definition A binary relation \,\sim\, on a set X is said to be an equivalence relation, if and only if it is reflexive, symmetric and transitive. That is, for all a, b, and c in X: * a \sim a ( ref ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Relation (mathematics)
In mathematics, a relation on a set may, or may not, hold between two given set members. For example, ''"is less than"'' is a relation on the set of natural numbers; it holds e.g. between 1 and 3 (denoted as 1 is an asymmetric relation, but ≥ is not. Again, the previous 3 alternatives are far from being exhaustive; as an example over the natural numbers, the relation defined by is neither symmetric nor antisymmetric, let alone asymmetric. ; : for all , if and then . A transitive relation is irreflexive if and only if it is asymmetric. For example, "is ancestor of" is a transitive relation, while "is parent of" is not. ; : for all , if then or . This property is sometimes called "total", which is distinct from the definitions of "total" given in the section . ; : for all , or . This property is sometimes called "total", which is distinct from the definitions of "total" given in the section . ; : every nonempty subset of contains a minimal element with respect to ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Integral Domain
In mathematics, specifically abstract algebra, an integral domain is a nonzero commutative ring in which the product of any two nonzero elements is nonzero. Integral domains are generalizations of the ring of integers and provide a natural setting for studying divisibility. In an integral domain, every nonzero element ''a'' has the cancellation property, that is, if , an equality implies . "Integral domain" is defined almost universally as above, but there is some variation. This article follows the convention that rings have a multiplicative identity, generally denoted 1, but some authors do not follow this, by not requiring integral domains to have a multiplicative identity. Noncommutative integral domains are sometimes admitted. This article, however, follows the much more usual convention of reserving the term "integral domain" for the commutative case and using "domain" for the general case including noncommutative rings. Some sources, notably Lang, use the term entir ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Prime Ideal
In algebra, a prime ideal is a subset of a ring that shares many important properties of a prime number in the ring of integers. The prime ideals for the integers are the sets that contain all the multiples of a given prime number, together with the zero ideal. Primitive ideals are prime, and prime ideals are both primary and semiprime. Prime ideals for commutative rings An ideal of a commutative ring is prime if it has the following two properties: * If and are two elements of such that their product is an element of , then is in or is in , * is not the whole ring . This generalizes the following property of prime numbers, known as Euclid's lemma: if is a prime number and if divides a product of two integers, then divides or divides . We can therefore say :A positive integer is a prime number if and only if n\Z is a prime ideal in \Z. Examples * A simple example: In the ring R=\Z, the subset of even numbers is a prime ideal. * Given an integral domain R ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Principal Ideal Domain
In mathematics, a principal ideal domain, or PID, is an integral domain in which every ideal is principal, i.e., can be generated by a single element. More generally, a principal ideal ring is a nonzero commutative ring whose ideals are principal, although some authors (e.g., Bourbaki) refer to PIDs as principal rings. The distinction is that a principal ideal ring may have zero divisors whereas a principal ideal domain cannot. Principal ideal domains are thus mathematical objects that behave somewhat like the integers, with respect to divisibility: any element of a PID has a unique decomposition into prime elements (so an analogue of the fundamental theorem of arithmetic holds); any two elements of a PID have a greatest common divisor (although it may not be possible to find it using the Euclidean algorithm). If and are elements of a PID without common divisors, then every element of the PID can be written in the form . Principal ideal domains are noetherian, they are integra ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Algebraic Integer
In algebraic number theory, an algebraic integer is a complex number which is integral over the integers. That is, an algebraic integer is a complex root of some monic polynomial (a polynomial whose leading coefficient is 1) whose coefficients are integers. The set of all algebraic integers is closed under addition, subtraction and multiplication and therefore is a commutative subring of the complex numbers. The ring of integers of a number field , denoted by , is the intersection of and : it can also be characterised as the maximal order of the field . Each algebraic integer belongs to the ring of integers of some number field. A number is an algebraic integer if and only if the ring \mathbbalpha/math> is finitely generated as an abelian group, which is to say, as a \mathbb-module. Definitions The following are equivalent definitions of an algebraic integer. Let be a number field (i.e., a finite extension of \mathbb, the field of rational numbers), in other words, K ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Richard Dedekind
Julius Wilhelm Richard Dedekind (6 October 1831 – 12 February 1916) was a German mathematician who made important contributions to number theory, abstract algebra (particularly ring theory), and the axiomatic foundations of arithmetic. His best known contribution is the definition of real numbers through the notion of Dedekind cut. He is also considered a pioneer in the development of modern set theory and of the philosophy of mathematics known as ''Logicism''. Life Dedekind's father was Julius Levin Ulrich Dedekind, an administrator of Collegium Carolinum in Braunschweig. His mother was Caroline Henriette Dedekind (née Emperius), the daughter of a professor at the Collegium. Richard Dedekind had three older siblings. As an adult, he never used the names Julius Wilhelm. He was born in Braunschweig (often called "Brunswick" in English), which is where he lived most of his life and died. He first attended the Collegium Carolinum in 1848 before transferring to the University ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Regular Prime
In number theory, a regular prime is a special kind of prime number, defined by Ernst Kummer in 1850 to prove certain cases of Fermat's Last Theorem. Regular primes may be defined via the divisibility of either class numbers or of Bernoulli numbers. The first few regular odd primes are: : 3, 5, 7, 11, 13, 17, 19, 23, 29, 31, 41, 43, 47, 53, 61, 71, 73, 79, 83, 89, 97, 107, 109, 113, 127, 137, 139, 151, 163, 167, 173, 179, 181, 191, 193, 197, 199, ... . History and motivation In 1850, Kummer proved that Fermat's Last Theorem is true for a prime exponent ''p'' if ''p'' is regular. This focused attention on the irregular primes. In 1852, Genocchi was able to prove that the first case of Fermat's Last Theorem is true for an exponent ''p'', if is not an irregular pair. Kummer improved this further in 1857 by showing that for the "first case" of Fermat's Last Theorem (see Sophie Germain's theorem) it is sufficient to establish that either or fails to be an irregular pair. Kummer ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
