Lecture Notes On Diophantine Analysis

Lecture Notes on Diophantine Analysis

These lecture notes originate from a course delivered at the Scuola Normale in Pisa in 2006. Generally speaking, the prerequisites do not go beyond basic mathematical material and are accessible to many undergraduates. The contents mainly concern diophantine problems on affine curves, in practice describing the integer solutions of equations in two variables. This case historically suggested some major ideas for more general problems. Starting with linear and quadratic equations, the important connections with Diophantine Approximation are presented and Thue's celebrated results are proved in full detail. In later chapters more modern issues on heights of algebraic points are dealt with, and applied to a sharp quantitative treatment of the unit equation. The book also contains several supplements, hinted exercises and an appendix on recent work on heights.

Lecture Notes on Diophantine Analysis

Diophantine Analysis

While its roots reach back to the third century, diophantine analysis continues to be an extremely active and powerful area of number theory. Many diophantine problems have simple formulations, they can be extremely difficult to attack, and many open problems and conjectures remain. Diophantine Analysis examines the theory of diophantine approximations and the theory of diophantine equations, with emphasis on interactions between these subjects. Beginning with the basic principles, the author develops his treatment around the theory of continued fractions and examines the classic theory, including some of its applications. He also explores modern topics rarely addressed in other texts, including the abc conjecture, the polynomial Pell equation, and the irrationality of the zeta function and touches on topics and applications related to discrete mathematics, such as factoring methods for large integers. Setting the stage for tackling the field's many open problems and conjectures, Diophantine Analysis is an ideal introduction to the fundamentals of this venerable but still dynamic field. A detailed appendix supplies the necessary background material, more than 200 exercises reinforce the concepts, and engaging historical notes bring the subject to life.