The Brauer-Hasse-Noether Theorem in Historical Perspective

The unpublished writings of Helmut Hasse, consisting of letters, manuscripts and other papers, are kept at the Handschriftenabteilung of the University Library at Göttingen. Hasse had an extensive correspondence; he liked to exchange mathematical ideas, results and methods freely with his colleagues. There are more than 8000 documents preserved. Although not all of them are of equal mathematical interest, searching through this treasure can help us to assess the development of Number Theory through the 1920s and 1930s.

The present volume is largely based on the letters and other documents its author has found concerning the Brauer-Hasse-Noether Theorem in the theory of algebras; this covers the years around 1931. In addition to the documents from the literary estates of Hasse and Brauer in Göttingen, the author also makes use of some letters from Emmy Noether to Richard Brauer that are preserved at the Bryn Mawr College Library (Pennsylvania, USA).

• Algebraic Number Theory
• Cyclic Algebras
• History
• algebra
• theorem

From the reviews:

"The Brauer-Hasse-Noether theorem, as it has come to be known, is one of the few for which we have a precise birth date: all evidence points to November 9, 1931 … . Roquette’s account is quite interesting … . Any mathematician who wants to understand why a number theorist would get excited about a theorem dealing with division algebras will find the issue well explained. I learned a lot by reading it … ." (Fernando Q. Gouvêa, MathDL – Online, October, 2006)

"This fascinating monograph is devoted to the genesis of one of the most famous articles in 20th-century number theory … . Roquette gives a very clear picture of the structure of the proof and the main ideas involved in it. Thus the text is not just a historical overview but also a valuable piece of mathematical exposition. … All in All, this is a fascinating case study of the evolution of groundbreaking mathematical ideas." (Tamás Szamuely, Mathematical Reviews, Issue 2006 m)

• Mathematisches Institut der Universität Heidelberg, Heidelberg, Germany

  Peter Roquette

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