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Dirichlet's Approximation Theorem
In number theory, Dirichlet's theorem on Diophantine approximation, also called Dirichlet's approximation theorem, states that for any real numbers \alpha and N , with 1 \leq N , there exist integers p and q such that 1 \leq q \leq N and : \left , q \alpha -p \right , \leq \frac < \frac. Here represents the integer part of . This is a fundamental result in Diophantine approximation, showing that any real number has a sequence of good rational approximations: in fact an immediate consequence is that for a given irrational α, the inequality : is satisfied by infinitely many integers ''p'' and ''q''. This shows that any irrational number has [...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 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 analytical objects (for example, the Riemann zeta function) that encode properties of the integers, primes or other number-theoretic object ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Real Numbers
In mathematics, a real number is a number that can be used to measure a ''continuous'' one-dimensional quantity such as a distance, duration or temperature. Here, ''continuous'' means that values can have arbitrarily small variations. Every real number can be almost uniquely represented by an infinite decimal expansion. The real numbers are fundamental in calculus (and more generally in all mathematics), in particular by their role in the classical definitions of limits, continuity and derivatives. The set of real numbers is denoted or \mathbb and is sometimes called "the reals". The adjective ''real'' in this context was introduced in the 17th century by René Descartes to distinguish real numbers, associated with physical reality, from imaginary numbers (such as the square roots of ), which seemed like a theoretical contrivance unrelated to physical reality. The real numbers include the rational numbers, such as the integer and the fraction . The rest of the rea ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Integer Part
In mathematics and computer science, the floor function is the function that takes as input a real number , and gives as output the greatest integer less than or equal to , denoted or . Similarly, the ceiling function maps to the least integer greater than or equal to , denoted or . For example, , , , and . Historically, the floor of has been–and still is–called the integral part or integer part of , often denoted (as well as a variety of other notations). Some authors may define the integral part as if is nonnegative, and otherwise: for example, and . The operation of truncation generalizes this to a specified number of digits: truncation to zero significant digits is the same as the integer part. For an integer, . Notation The ''integral part'' or ''integer part'' of a number ( in the original) was first defined in 1798 by Adrien-Marie Legendre in his proof of the Legendre's formula. Carl Friedrich Gauss introduced the square bracket notation in hi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Diophantine Approximation
In number theory, the study of Diophantine approximation deals with the approximation of real numbers by rational numbers. It is named after Diophantus of Alexandria. The first problem was to know how well a real number can be approximated by rational numbers. For this problem, a rational number ''a''/''b'' is a "good" approximation of a real number ''α'' if the absolute value of the difference between ''a''/''b'' and ''α'' may not decrease if ''a''/''b'' is replaced by another rational number with a smaller denominator. This problem was solved during the 18th century by means of continued fractions. Knowing the "best" approximations of a given number, the main problem of the field is to find sharp upper and lower bounds of the above difference, expressed as a function of the denominator. It appears that these bounds depend on the nature of the real numbers to be approximated: the lower bound for the approximation of a rational number by another rational number is larger than ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Irrationality Measure
In number theory, a Liouville number is a real number ''x'' with the property that, for every positive integer ''n'', there exists a pair of integers (''p, q'') with ''q'' > 1 such that :0 1 + \log_2(d)~, the last inequality above implies :\left, x - \frac \ \ge \frac > \frac \ge \frac ~. Therefore, in the case ~ \left, c\,q - d\,p \ > 0 ~ such pair of integers ~(\,p,\,q\,)~ would violate the ''second'' inequality in the definition of a Liouville number, for some positive integer . We conclude that there is no pair of integers ~(\,p,\,q\,)~, with ~ q > 1 ~, that would qualify such an ~ x = c / d ~, as a Liouville number. Hence a Liouville number, if it exists, cannot be rational. (The section on ''Liouville's constant'' proves that Liouville numbers exist by exhibiting the construction of one. The proof given in this section implies that this number must be irrational.) Uncountability Consider, for example, the number :3.1400010000000000000000050000.... 3.14(3 zeros)1(1 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Thue–Siegel–Roth Theorem
In mathematics, Roth's theorem is a fundamental result in diophantine approximation to algebraic numbers. It is of a qualitative type, stating that algebraic numbers cannot have many rational number approximations that are 'very good'. Over half a century, the meaning of ''very good'' here was refined by a number of mathematicians, starting with Joseph Liouville in 1844 and continuing with work of , , , and . Statement Roth's theorem states that every irrational algebraic number \alpha has approximation exponent equal to 2. This means that, for every \varepsilon>0, the inequality :\left, \alpha - \frac\ \frac with C(\alpha,\varepsilon) a positive number depending only on \varepsilon>0 and \alpha. Discussion The first result in this direction is Liouville's theorem on approximation of algebraic numbers, which gives an approximation exponent of ''d'' for an algebraic number α of degree ''d'' ≥ 2. This is already enough to demonstrate the existence of transcen ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Algebraic Number
An algebraic number is a number that is a root of a non-zero polynomial in one variable with integer (or, equivalently, rational) coefficients. For example, the golden ratio, (1 + \sqrt)/2, is an algebraic number, because it is a root of the polynomial . That is, it is a value for x for which the polynomial evaluates to zero. As another example, the complex number 1 + i is algebraic because it is a root of . All integers and rational numbers are algebraic, as are all roots of integers. Real and complex numbers that are not algebraic, such as and , are called transcendental numbers. The set of algebraic numbers is countably infinite and has measure zero in the Lebesgue measure as a subset of the uncountable complex numbers. In that sense, almost all complex numbers are transcendental. Examples * All rational numbers are algebraic. Any rational number, expressed as the quotient of an integer and a (non-zero) natural number , satisfies the above definition, because is ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Golden Ratio
In mathematics, two quantities are in the golden ratio if their ratio is the same as the ratio of their sum to the larger of the two quantities. Expressed algebraically, for quantities a and b with a > b > 0, where the Greek letter phi ( or \phi) denotes the golden ratio. The constant \varphi satisfies the quadratic equation \varphi^2 = \varphi + 1 and is an irrational number with a value of The golden ratio was called the extreme and mean ratio by Euclid, and the divine proportion by Luca Pacioli, and also goes by several other names. Mathematicians have studied the golden ratio's properties since antiquity. It is the ratio of a regular pentagon's diagonal to its side and thus appears in the construction of the dodecahedron and icosahedron. A golden rectangle—that is, a rectangle with an aspect ratio of \varphi—may be cut into a square and a smaller rectangle with the same aspect ratio. The golden ratio has been used to analyze the proportions of natural o ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pigeonhole Principle
In mathematics, the pigeonhole principle states that if items are put into containers, with , then at least one container must contain more than one item. For example, if one has three gloves (and none is ambidextrous/reversible), then there must be at least two right-handed gloves, or at least two left-handed gloves, because there are three objects, but only two categories of handedness to put them into. This seemingly obvious statement, a type of counting argument, can be used to demonstrate possibly unexpected results. For example, given that the population of London is greater than the maximum number of hairs that can be present on a human's head, then the pigeonhole principle requires that there must be at least two people in London who have the same number of hairs on their heads. Although the pigeonhole principle appears as early as 1624 in a book attributed to Jean Leurechon, it is commonly called Dirichlet's box principle or Dirichlet's drawer principle after an 1834 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Peter Gustav Lejeune Dirichlet
Johann Peter Gustav Lejeune Dirichlet (; 13 February 1805 – 5 May 1859) was a German mathematician who made deep contributions to number theory (including creating the field of analytic number theory), and to the theory of Fourier series and other topics in mathematical analysis; he is credited with being one of the first mathematicians to give the modern formal definition of a function. Although his surname is Lejeune Dirichlet, he is commonly referred to by his mononym Dirichlet, in particular for results named after him. Biography Early life (1805–1822) Gustav Lejeune Dirichlet was born on 13 February 1805 in Düren, a town on the left bank of the Rhine which at the time was part of the First French Empire, reverting to Prussia after the Congress of Vienna in 1815. His father Johann Arnold Lejeune Dirichlet was the postmaster, merchant, and city councilor. His paternal grandfather had come to Düren from Richelette (or more likely Richelle), a small community north ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pell Equation
Pell's equation, also called the Pell–Fermat equation, is any Diophantine equation of the form x^2 - ny^2 = 1, where ''n'' is a given positive nonsquare integer, and integer solutions are sought for ''x'' and ''y''. In Cartesian coordinates, the equation is represented by a hyperbola; solutions occur wherever the curve passes through a point whose ''x'' and ''y'' coordinates are both integers, such as the trivial solution with ''x'' = 1 and ''y'' = 0. Joseph Louis Lagrange proved that, as long as ''n'' is not a perfect square, Pell's equation has infinitely many distinct integer solutions. These solutions may be used to accurately approximate the square root of ''n'' by rational numbers of the form ''x''/''y''. This equation was first studied extensively in India starting with Brahmagupta, who found an integer solution to 92x^2 + 1 = y^2 in his ''Brāhmasphuṭasiddhānta'' circa 628. Bhaskara II in the 12th century and Narayana Pandit i ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Minkowski's Theorem
In mathematics, Minkowski's theorem is the statement that every convex set in \mathbb^n which is symmetric with respect to the origin and which has volume greater than 2^n contains a non-zero integer point (meaning a point in \Z^n that is not the origin). The theorem was proved by Hermann Minkowski in 1889 and became the foundation of the branch of number theory called the geometry of numbers. It can be extended from the integers to any lattice L and to any symmetric convex set with volume greater than 2^n\,d(L), where d(L) denotes the covolume of the lattice (the absolute value of the determinant of any of its bases). Formulation Suppose that is a lattice of determinant in the - dimensional real vector space and is a convex subset of that is symmetric with respect to the origin, meaning that if is in then is also in . Minkowski's theorem states that if the volume of is strictly greater than , then must contain at least one lattice point other than the origin. ( ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
