Home P-Adic Numbers: An Introduction by Fernando Quadros Gouvea (ISBN: 9783540629115)

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P-Adic Numbers: An Introduction Paperback - 2003

Name: P-Adic Numbers: An Introduction
Price: 83.32 GBP
Availability: InStock
Author: Gouvea, Fernando Q.
ISBN: 9783540629115

by Fernando Quadros Gouvea

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From the publisher

In the course of their undergraduate careers, most mathematics majors see little beyond "standard mathematics: " basic real and complex analysis, ab- stract algebra, some differential geometry, etc. There are few adventures in other territories, and few opportunities to visit some of the more exotic cor- ners of mathematics. The goal of this book is to offer such an opportunity, by way of a visit to the p-adic universe. Such a visit offers a glimpse of a part of mathematics which is both important and fun, and which also is something of a meeting point between algebra and analysis. Over the last century, p-adic numbers and p-adic analysis have come to playa central role in modern number theory. This importance comes from the fact that they afford a natural and powerful language for talking about congruences between integers, and allow the use of methods borrowed from calculus and analysis for studying such problems. More recently, p-adic num- bers have shown up in other areas of mathematics, and even in physics.

First line

The p-adic numbers were first introduced by the German mathematician K. Hensel (though they are foreshadowed in the work of his predecessor E. Kummer).