Invitation to the Mathematics of Fermat-Wiles - Hardcover

Hellegouarch, Yves

3.71

7 ratings by Goodreads

9780123392510: Invitation to the Mathematics of Fermat-Wiles

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0123392519 ISBN 13: 9780123392510

Publisher: Academic Press, 2001

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Assuming only modest knowledge of undergraduate level math, Invitation to the Mathematics of Fermat-Wiles presents diverse concepts required to comprehend Wiles' extraordinary proof. Furthermore, it places these concepts in their historical context.

This book can be used in introduction to mathematics theories courses and in special topics courses on Fermat's last theorem. It contains themes suitable for development by students as an introduction to personal research as well as numerous exercises and problems. However, the book will also appeal to the inquiring and mathematically informed reader intrigued by the unraveling of this fascinating puzzle.

Rigorously presents the concepts required to understand Wiles' proof, assuming only modest undergraduate level math
Sets the math in its historical context
Contains several themes that could be further developed by student research and numerous exercises and problems
Written by Yves Hellegouarch, who himself made an important contribution to the proof of Fermat's last theorem

"synopsis" may belong to another edition of this title.

Review:

"This text provides a sweeping introduction to all those mathematical topics, concepts, methods, techniques, and classical results that are necessary to understand Andrew Wiles's theory culminating in the first complete proof of Fermat's last theorem. The text is accessible, without compromising the rigor of its mathematical exposition, to reasoned undergraduate students, at least so for the most part it can serve as the basis for various teaching courses. It sets the whole discussion in a fascinating, generally educating historical context, thereby travelling - metaphorically speaking - through the centuries of mathematical history. No doubt, it is a true blessing that the English translation of this unique book is now at hand for a much wider public." --Werner Kleinert (Berlin) in Zentralblatt MATH 1036

From the Back Cover:

"To decompose a cube into two other cubes, a fourth power, and generally an arbitrary power into two of the same powers above the second power, is an impossible thing and I have certainly found its admirable proof. This narrow margin would not contain it."

Scrawled as an aside in the margin of Fermat's copy of Diophantus' Arithmetica lies the original formulation of mathematics' most famous enigma: Fermat's last theorem. For 350 years mathematicians struggled with the theorem until, on the 19th of September 1994, Andrew Wiles presented a proof. Invitation to the Mathematics of Fermat-Wiles collects and expounds diverse mathematical developments that helped lay the foundations for Wiles' proof.

This book is a translation from the second edition of the French version.

Key Features

� Rigorously presents concepts required to get a grasp of Wiles' proof, assuming only modest undergraduate level math.

� Sets the math in its historical context.

� Contains several themes suitable for development by students as an introduction to personal research as well as numerous exercises and problems.

� Written by Yves Hellegouarch, who himself made an important contribution to the proof of Fermat's last theorem.

Invitation to the Mathematics of Fermat-Wiles is accessible without compromising the rigor of its mathematical exposition. It could be used as the basis for special courses on Fermat's last theorem or to provide an undergraduate or graduate level introduction to a wide range of theories (e.g. commutative algebra, field theory, representations of linear groups, algebraic geometry and functions of a complex variable). However, the book is principally aimed at the inquiring and mathematically informed reader who is intrigued by the unraveling of this fascinating puzzle.

Yves Hellegouarch studied at the �cole Normale Sup�rieure in Paris. He has been teaching at the University of Caen since 1970. In 1972 he wrote a thesis on "Elliptic curves and Fermat's equation".|"To decompose a cube into two other cubes, a fourth power, and generally an arbitrary power into two of the same powers above the second power, is an impossible thing and I have certainly found its admirable proof. This narrow margin would not contain it."

Scrawled as an aside in the margin of Fermat's copy of Diophantus' Arithmetica lies the original formulation of mathematics' most famous enigma: Fermat's last theorem. For 350 years mathematicians struggled with the theorem until, on the 19th of September 1994, Andrew Wiles presented a proof. Invitation to the Mathematics of Fermat-Wiles collects and expounds diverse mathematical developments that helped lay the foundations for Wiles' proof.

This book is a translation from the second edition of the French version.

Key Features

� Rigorously presents concepts required to get a grasp of Wiles' proof, assuming only modest undergraduate level math.

� Sets the math in its historical context.

� Contains several themes suitable for development by students as an introduction to personal research as well as numerous exercises and problems.

� Written by Yves Hellegouarch, who himself made an important contribution to the proof of Fermat's last theorem.

Invitation to the Mathematics of Fermat-Wiles is accessible without compromising the rigor of its mathematical exposition. It could be used as the basis for special courses on Fermat's last theorem or to provide an undergraduate or graduate level introduction to a wide range of theories (e.g. commutative algebra, field theory, representations of linear groups, algebraic geometry and functions of a complex variable). However, the book is principally aimed at the inquiring and mathematically informed reader who is intrigued by the unraveling of this fascinating puzzle.

Yves Hellegouarch studied at the �cole Normale Sup�rieure in Paris. He has been teaching at the University of Caen since 1970. In 1972 he wrote a thesis on "Elliptic curves and Fermat's equation".

"About this title" may belong to another edition of this title.