An Introduction to Number Theory (Graduate Texts in Mathematics, Vol. 232) (Graduate Texts in Mathematics (232))

The book aims to take readers to a deeper understanding of the patterns of thought that have shaped the modern understanding of number theory. It begins with the fundamental theorem of arithmetic and shows how it echoes through much of number theory over the last two hundred years. One of the main strengths of this book is the narrative. Everest and Ward present number theory as a living subject, showing how various new developments have drawn upon older traditions. The authors concentrate on the underlying ideas instead of working out the most general and complete version of a result. They select material from both the algebraic and analytic disciplines and sometimes present several different proofs of a single result to show the differing viewpoints and also to capture the imagination of the reader and help them to discover their own tastes. They also cover important topics of significant interest, eg. elliptic functions and the new primality test, which are often omitted from other books at this level. "An Introduction to Number Theory provides an introduction to the main streams of number theory. Starting with the unique factorization property of the integers, the theme of factorization is revisited several times throughout the book to illustrate how the ideas handed down from Euclid continue to reverberate through the subject. In particular, the book shows how the Fundamental Theorem of Arithmetic, handed down from antiquity, informs much of the teaching of modern number theory. The result is that number theory will be understood, not as a collection of tricks and isolated results, but as a coherent and interconnected theory. A number of different approaches to number theory are presented, and the different streams in the book are brought together in a chapter that describes the class number formula for quadratic fields and the famous conjectures of Birch and Swinnerton-Dyer. The final chapter introduces some of the main ideas behind modern computational number theory and its applications in cryptography. Written for graduate and advanced undergraduate students of mathematics, this text will also appeal to students in cognate subjects who wish to learn some of the big ideas in number theory."--Publisher's website

An Introduction to Number Theory provides an introduction to the main streams of number theory. Starting with the unique factorization property of the integers, the theme of factorization is revisited several times throughout the book to illustrate how the ideas handed down from Euclid continue to reverberate through the subject.

In particular, the book shows how the Fundamental Theorem of Arithmetic, handed down from antiquity, informs much of the teaching of modern number theory. The result is that number theory will be understood, not as a collection of tricks and isolated results, but as a coherent and interconnected theory.

A number of different approaches to number theory are presented, and the different streams in the book are brought together in a chapter that describes the class number formula for quadratic fields and the famous conjectures of Birch and Swinnerton-Dyer. The final chapter introduces some of the main ideas behind modern computational number theory and its applications in cryptography.

Written for graduate and advanced undergraduate students of mathematics, this text will also appeal to students in cognate subjects who wish to learn some of the big ideas in number theory.

An Introduction to Number Theory provides an introduction to the main streams of number theory. Starting with the unique factorization property of the integers, the theme of factorization is revisited several times throughout the book to illustrate how the ideas handed down from Euclid continue to reverberate through the subject. In particular, the book shows how the Fundamental Theorem of Arithmetic, handed down from antiquity, informs much of the teaching of modern number theory. The result is that number theory will be understood, not as a collection of tricks and isolated results, but as a coherent and interconnected theory. A number of different approaches to number theory are presented, and the different streams in the book are brought together in a chapter that describes the class number formula for quadratic fields and the famous conjectures of Birch and Swinnerton-Dyer. The final chapter introduces some of the main ideas behind modern computational number theory and its applications in cryptography. Written for graduate and advanced undergraduate students of mathematics, this text will also appeal to students in cognate subjects who wish to be introduced to some of the main themes in number theory Includes up-to-date material on recent developments and topics of significant interest, such as elliptic functions and the new primality test Selects material from both the algebraic and analytic disciplines, presenting several different proofs of a single result to illustrate the differing viewpoints and give good insight Aimed at graduate and advanced undergraduate students in mathematics, this text covers material from both the algebraic and analytic disciplines and includes coverage of developments; such as the new primality test and other topics of significant interest This book is written from the perspective of several passionately held beliefs about mathematical education.