The Problem of Catalan [electronic resource] /
Bilu, Yuri F.author.
Bugeaud, Yann.author.
Mignotte, Maurice.author.
In 1842 the Belgian mathematician Eugène Charles Catalan asked whether 8 and 9 are the only consecutive pure powers of non-zero integers. 160 years after, the question was answered affirmatively by the Swiss mathematician of Romanian origin Preda Mihăilescu. In this book we give a complete and (almost) self-contained exposition of Mihăilescu’s work, which must be understandable by a curious university student, not necessarily specializing in Number Theory. We assume very modest background: a standard university course of algebra, including basic Galois theory, and working knowledge of basic algebraic number theory.
Description based upon print version of record.
Includes bibliographical references and indexes.
An Historical Account -- Even Exponents -- Cassels' Relations -- Cyclotomic Fields -- Dirichlet L-Series and Class Number Formulas -- Higher Divisibility Theorems -- Gauss Sums and Stickelberger's Theorem -- Mihăilescu’s Ideal -- The Real Part of Mihăilescu’s Ideal -- Cyclotomic units -- Selmer Group and Proof of Catalan's Conjecture -- The Theorem of Thaine -- Baker's Method and Tijdeman's Argument -- Appendix A: Number Fields -- Appendix B: Heights -- Appendix C: Commutative Rings, Modules, Semi-Simplicity -- Appendix D: Group Rings and Characters -- Appendix E: Reduction and Torsion of Finite G-Modules -- Appendix F: Radical Extensions.
In 1842 the Belgian mathematician Eugène Charles Catalan asked whether 8 and 9 are the only consecutive pure powers of non-zero integers. 160 years after, the question was answered affirmatively by the Swiss mathematician of Romanian origin Preda Mihăilescu. In this book we give a complete and (almost) self-contained exposition of Mihăilescu’s work, which must be understandable by a curious university student, not necessarily specializing in Number Theory. We assume very modest background: a standard university course of algebra, including basic Galois theory, and working knowledge of basic algebraic number theory.
Number theory.
Algebra.
Number Theory.
General Algebraic Systems.
Algebra.