Prime numberA prime number (or a prime) is a natural number greater than 1 that is not a product of two smaller natural numbers. A natural number greater than 1 that is not prime is called a composite number. For example, 5 is prime because the only ways of writing it as a product, 1 × 5 or 5 × 1, involve 5 itself. However, 4 is composite because it is a product (2 × 2) in which both numbers are smaller than 4.
Wilson's theoremIn algebra and number theory, Wilson's theorem states that a natural number n > 1 is a prime number if and only if the product of all the positive integers less than n is one less than a multiple of n. That is (using the notations of modular arithmetic), the factorial satisfies exactly when n is a prime number. In other words, any number n is a prime number if, and only if, (n − 1)! + 1 is divisible by n. This theorem was stated by Ibn al-Haytham (c. 1000 AD), and, in the 18th century, by the English mathematician John Wilson.
Modular arithmeticIn mathematics, modular arithmetic is a system of arithmetic for integers, where numbers "wrap around" when reaching a certain value, called the modulus. The modern approach to modular arithmetic was developed by Carl Friedrich Gauss in his book Disquisitiones Arithmeticae, published in 1801. A familiar use of modular arithmetic is in the 12-hour clock, in which the day is divided into two 12-hour periods. If the time is 7:00 now, then 8 hours later it will be 3:00.
Number theoryNumber 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 functions. German mathematician Carl Friedrich Gauss (1777–1855) said, "Mathematics is the queen of the sciences—and number theory is the queen of mathematics." Number theorists study prime numbers as well as the properties of mathematical objects constructed from integers (for example, rational numbers), or defined as generalizations of the integers (for example, algebraic integers).
Euler's theoremIn number theory, Euler's theorem (also known as the Fermat–Euler theorem or Euler's totient theorem) states that, if n and a are coprime positive integers, and is Euler's totient function, then a raised to the power is congruent to 1 modulo n; that is In 1736, Leonhard Euler published a proof of Fermat's little theorem (stated by Fermat without proof), which is the restriction of Euler's theorem to the case where n is a prime number.
Wilson primeIn number theory, a Wilson prime is a prime number such that divides , where "" denotes the factorial function; compare this with Wilson's theorem, which states that every prime divides . Both are named for 18th-century English mathematician John Wilson; in 1770, Edward Waring credited the theorem to Wilson, although it had been stated centuries earlier by Ibn al-Haytham. The only known Wilson primes are 5, 13, and 563 . Costa et al. write that "the case is trivial", and credit the observation that 13 is a Wilson prime to .
Algebraic number theoryAlgebraic number theory is a branch of number theory that uses the techniques of abstract algebra to study the integers, rational numbers, and their generalizations. Number-theoretic questions are expressed in terms of properties of algebraic objects such as algebraic number fields and their rings of integers, finite fields, and function fields. These properties, such as whether a ring admits unique factorization, the behavior of ideals, and the Galois groups of fields, can resolve questions of primary importance in number theory, like the existence of solutions to Diophantine equations.
Sexy primeIn number theory, sexy primes are prime numbers that differ from each other by 6. For example, the numbers 5 and 11 are both sexy primes, because both are prime and 11 − 5 = 6. The term "sexy prime" is a pun stemming from the Latin word for six: sex. If p + 2 or p + 4 (where p is the lower prime) is also prime, then the sexy prime is part of a prime triplet.
Formula for primesIn number theory, a formula for primes is a formula generating the prime numbers, exactly and without exception. No such formula which is efficiently computable is known. A number of constraints are known, showing what such a "formula" can and cannot be. A simple formula is for positive integer , where is the floor function, which rounds down to the nearest integer. By Wilson's theorem, is prime if and only if . Thus, when is prime, the first factor in the product becomes one, and the formula produces the prime number .
Modular formIn mathematics, a modular form is a (complex) analytic function on the upper half-plane that satisfies: a kind of functional equation with respect to the group action of the modular group, and a growth condition. The theory of modular forms therefore belongs to complex analysis. The main importance of the theory is its connections with number theory. Modular forms appear in other areas, such as algebraic topology, sphere packing, and string theory.
Arithmetic geometryIn mathematics, arithmetic geometry is roughly the application of techniques from algebraic geometry to problems in number theory. Arithmetic geometry is centered around Diophantine geometry, the study of rational points of algebraic varieties. In more abstract terms, arithmetic geometry can be defined as the study of schemes of finite type over the spectrum of the ring of integers. The classical objects of interest in arithmetic geometry are rational points: sets of solutions of a system of polynomial equations over number fields, finite fields, p-adic fields, or function fields, i.
Arithmetic groupIn mathematics, an arithmetic group is a group obtained as the integer points of an algebraic group, for example They arise naturally in the study of arithmetic properties of quadratic forms and other classical topics in number theory. They also give rise to very interesting examples of Riemannian manifolds and hence are objects of interest in differential geometry and topology. Finally, these two topics join in the theory of automorphic forms which is fundamental in modern number theory.
Analytic number theoryIn mathematics, analytic number theory is a branch of number theory that uses methods from mathematical analysis to solve problems about the integers. It is often said to have begun with Peter Gustav Lejeune Dirichlet's 1837 introduction of Dirichlet L-functions to give the first proof of Dirichlet's theorem on arithmetic progressions. It is well known for its results on prime numbers (involving the Prime Number Theorem and Riemann zeta function) and additive number theory (such as the Goldbach conjecture and Waring's problem).
Prime quadrupletIn number theory, a prime quadruplet (sometimes called prime quadruple) is a set of four prime numbers of the form {p,\ p+2,\ p+6,\ p+8}. This represents the closest possible grouping of four primes larger than 3, and is the only prime constellation of length 4. The first eight prime quadruplets are: {5, 7, 11, 13}, {11, 13, 17, 19}, {101, 103, 107, 109}, {191, 193, 197, 199}, {821, 823, 827, 829}, {1481, 1483, 1487, 1489}, {1871, 1873, 1877, 1879}, {2081, 2083, 2087, 2089} All prime quadruplets except {5, 7, 11, 13} are of the form {30n + 11, 30n + 13, 30n + 17, 30n + 19} for some integer n.
Mersenne primeIn mathematics, a Mersenne prime is a prime number that is one less than a power of two. That is, it is a prime number of the form Mn = 2n − 1 for some integer n. They are named after Marin Mersenne, a French Minim friar, who studied them in the early 17th century. If n is a composite number then so is 2n − 1. Therefore, an equivalent definition of the Mersenne primes is that they are the prime numbers of the form Mp = 2p − 1 for some prime p. The exponents n which give Mersenne primes are 2, 3, 5, 7, 13, 17, 19, 31, .
Modular groupIn mathematics, the modular group is the projective special linear group of 2 × 2 matrices with integer coefficients and determinant 1. The matrices A and −A are identified. The modular group acts on the upper-half of the complex plane by fractional linear transformations, and the name "modular group" comes from the relation to moduli spaces and not from modular arithmetic. The modular group Γ is the group of linear fractional transformations of the upper half of the complex plane, which have the form where a, b, c, d are integers, and ad − bc = 1.
Computational complexity theoryIn theoretical computer science and mathematics, computational complexity theory focuses on classifying computational problems according to their resource usage, and relating these classes to each other. A computational problem is a task solved by a computer. A computation problem is solvable by mechanical application of mathematical steps, such as an algorithm. A problem is regarded as inherently difficult if its solution requires significant resources, whatever the algorithm used.
Prime number theoremIn mathematics, the prime number theorem (PNT) describes the asymptotic distribution of the prime numbers among the positive integers. It formalizes the intuitive idea that primes become less common as they become larger by precisely quantifying the rate at which this occurs. The theorem was proved independently by Jacques Hadamard and Charles Jean de la Vallée Poussin in 1896 using ideas introduced by Bernhard Riemann (in particular, the Riemann zeta function).
Analysis of algorithmsIn computer science, the analysis of algorithms is the process of finding the computational complexity of algorithms—the amount of time, storage, or other resources needed to execute them. Usually, this involves determining a function that relates the size of an algorithm's input to the number of steps it takes (its time complexity) or the number of storage locations it uses (its space complexity). An algorithm is said to be efficient when this function's values are small, or grow slowly compared to a growth in the size of the input.
Computational complexityIn computer science, the computational complexity or simply complexity of an algorithm is the amount of resources required to run it. Particular focus is given to computation time (generally measured by the number of needed elementary operations) and memory storage requirements. The complexity of a problem is the complexity of the best algorithms that allow solving the problem. The study of the complexity of explicitly given algorithms is called analysis of algorithms, while the study of the complexity of problems is called computational complexity theory.
