Overview
- Offers an innovative approach to elementary number theory motivated by right triangles
- Inspires students to explore number theory through investigation of concrete examples
- Provides historical context throughout, showing how ideas developed in the field
- Features numerous engaging exercises, including many designed for SageMath
Part of the book series: Undergraduate Texts in Mathematics (UTM)
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Table of contents (14 chapters)
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Front Matter
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Advanced Topics
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Front Matter
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Back Matter
Keywords
About this book
Right triangles are at the heart of this textbook’s vibrant new approach to elementary number theory. Inspired by the familiar Pythagorean theorem, the author invites the reader to ask natural arithmetic questions about right triangles, then proceeds to develop the theory needed to respond. Throughout, students are encouraged to engage with the material by posing questions, working through exercises, using technology, and learning about the broader context in which ideas developed.
Progressing from the fundamentals of number theory through to Gauss sums and quadratic reciprocity, the first part of this text presents an innovative first course in elementary number theory. The advanced topics that follow, such as counting lattice points and the four squares theorem, offer a variety of options for extension, or a higher-level course; the breadth and modularity of the later material is ideal for creating a senior capstone course. Numerous exercises are included throughout, many ofwhich are designed for SageMath.By involving students in the active process of inquiry and investigation, this textbook imbues the foundations of number theory with insights into the lively mathematical process that continues to advance the field today. Experience writing proofs is the only formal prerequisite for the book, while a background in basic real analysis will enrich the reader’s appreciation of the final chapters.
Reviews
“The book reads well. … I would think this would be an enjoyable book from which to teach, since it covers the standard material in the way in which mathematics is done by asking questions and then developing the theory necessary for answering the questions. … All in all, this is a very good antidote to the definition-theorem-proof approach to introductions to various subdisciplines of mathematics.” (Duncan A. Buell, Mathematical Reviews, February, 2020)
“The present book has a high didactic quality being a detailed proof that number theory is ‘a field of study that sits at the crossroads of many branches of mathematics, and that fact makes a prominent appearance in this book’ as is pointed out in Preface. … this book develops step by step a large number of techniques to solve a lot of number theoretic problems. ... this book is an excellent source for all readers interested in number theory.” (Mircea Crâşmăreanu, zbMath 1410.11002, 2019)
“This book offers an interesting variation on the traditional undergraduate number theory course. … The book is quite nicely written, with good motivation and a substantial supply of examples. … the book has several other potential uses: it could be used as a text for a second semester course in number theory or ‘special topics’ course, or as a text for an introductory graduate course. It’s also just an interesting book to have on one’s shelf.” (Mark Hunacek, MAA Reviews, June 24, 2019)
Authors and Affiliations
About the author
Ramin Takloo-Bighash is a Professor of Mathematics at the University of Illinois at Chicago, where his research is centered on Diophantine geometry and automorphic forms. His enthusiasm for research inspires his teaching at all levels.
Bibliographic Information
Book Title: A Pythagorean Introduction to Number Theory
Book Subtitle: Right Triangles, Sums of Squares, and Arithmetic
Authors: Ramin Takloo-Bighash
Series Title: Undergraduate Texts in Mathematics
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-02604-2
Publisher: Springer Cham
eBook Packages: Mathematics and Statistics, Mathematics and Statistics (R0)
Copyright Information: Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2018
Hardcover ISBN: 978-3-030-02603-5Published: 10 December 2018
Softcover ISBN: 978-3-030-80529-6Published: 24 July 2021
eBook ISBN: 978-3-030-02604-2Published: 26 November 2018
Series ISSN: 0172-6056
Series E-ISSN: 2197-5604
Edition Number: 1
Number of Pages: XVIII, 279
Number of Illustrations: 15 b/w illustrations, 9 illustrations in colour
Topics: Number Theory