Written by two leading workers in the field, this brief but elegant book presents in full detail the simplest proof of the "main conjecture" for cyclotomic fields. Its motivation stems not only from the inherent beauty of the subject, but also from the wider arithmetic interest of these questions. From the reviews: "The text is written in a clear and attractive style, with enough explanation helping the reader orientate in the midst of technical details." --ZENTRALBLATT MATH
This text on a central area of number theory covers p-adic L-functions, class numbers, cyclotomic units, Fermat’s Last Theorem, and Iwasawa’s theory of Z_p-extensions. This edition contains a new chapter on the work of Thaine, Kolyvagin, and Rubin, including a proof of the Main Conjecture, as well as a chapter on other recent developments, such as primality testing via Jacobi sums and Sinnott’s proof of the vanishing of Iwasawa’s f-invariant.
The aim of the series is to present new and important developments in pure and applied mathematics. Well established in the community over two decades, it offers a large library of mathematics including several important classics. The volumes supply thorough and detailed expositions of the methods and ideas essential to the topics in question. In addition, they convey their relationships to other parts of mathematics. The series is addressed to advanced readers wishing to thoroughly study the topic. Editorial Board Lev Birbrair, Universidade Federal do Ceará, Fortaleza, Brasil Victor P. Maslov, Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, Russia Walter D. Neumann, Columbia University, New York, USA Markus J. Pflaum, University of Colorado, Boulder, USA Dierk Schleicher, Jacobs University, Bremen, Germany
This book grew. out of lectures given at the University of Maryland in 1979/1980. The purpose was to give a treatment of p-adic L-functions and cyclotomic fields, including Iwasawa's theory of Zp-extensions, which was accessible to mathematicians of varying backgrounds. The reader is assumed to have had at least one semester of algebraic number theory (though one of my students took such a course concurrently). In particular, the following terms should be familiar: Dedekind domain, class number, discriminant, units, ramification, local field. Occasionally one needs the fact that ramification can be computed locally. However, one who has a good background in algebra should be able to survive by talking to the local algebraic number theorist. I have not assumed class field theory; the basic facts are summarized in an appendix. For most of the book, one only needs the fact that the Galois group of the maximal unramified abelian extension is isomorphic to the ideal class group, and variants of this statement. The chapters are intended to be read consecutively, but it should be possible to vary the order considerably. The first four chapters are basic. After that, the reader willing to believe occasional facts could probably read the remaining chapters randomly. For example, the reader might skip directly to Chapter 13 to learn about Zp-extensions. The last chapter, on the Kronecker-Weber theorem, can be read after Chapter 2.
This open access textbook presents a comprehensive treatment of the arithmetic theory of quaternion algebras and orders, a subject with applications in diverse areas of mathematics. Written to be accessible and approachable to the graduate student reader, this text collects and synthesizes results from across the literature. Numerous pathways offer explorations in many different directions, while the unified treatment makes this book an essential reference for students and researchers alike. Divided into five parts, the book begins with a basic introduction to the noncommutative algebra underlying the theory of quaternion algebras over fields, including the relationship to quadratic forms. An in-depth exploration of the arithmetic of quaternion algebras and orders follows. The third part considers analytic aspects, starting with zeta functions and then passing to an idelic approach, offering a pathway from local to global that includes strong approximation. Applications of unit groups of quaternion orders to hyperbolic geometry and low-dimensional topology follow, relating geometric and topological properties to arithmetic invariants. Arithmetic geometry completes the volume, including quaternionic aspects of modular forms, supersingular elliptic curves, and the moduli of QM abelian surfaces. Quaternion Algebras encompasses a vast wealth of knowledge at the intersection of many fields. Graduate students interested in algebra, geometry, and number theory will appreciate the many avenues and connections to be explored. Instructors will find numerous options for constructing introductory and advanced courses, while researchers will value the all-embracing treatment. Readers are assumed to have some familiarity with algebraic number theory and commutative algebra, as well as the fundamentals of linear algebra, topology, and complex analysis. More advanced topics call upon additional background, as noted, though essential concepts and motivation are recapped throughout.
This book provides an exposition of function field arithmetic with emphasis on recent developments concerning Drinfeld modules, the arithmetic of special values of transcendental functions (such as zeta and gamma functions and their interpolations), diophantine approximation and related interesting open problems. While it covers many topics treated in 'Basic Structures of Function Field Arithmetic' by David Goss, it complements that book with the inclusion of recent developments as well as the treatment of new topics such as diophantine approximation, hypergeometric functions, modular forms, transcendence, automata and solitons. There is also new work on multizeta values and log-algebraicity. The author has included numerous worked-out examples. Many open problems, which can serve as good thesis problems, are discussed.
Celebrating one of the leading figures in contemporary number theory – John H. Coates – on the occasion of his 70th birthday, this collection of contributions covers a range of topics in number theory, concentrating on the arithmetic of elliptic curves, modular forms, and Galois representations. Several of the contributions in this volume were presented at the conference Elliptic Curves, Modular Forms and Iwasawa Theory, held in honour of the 70th birthday of John Coates in Cambridge, March 25-27, 2015. The main unifying theme is Iwasawa theory, a field that John Coates himself has done much to create. This collection is indispensable reading for researchers in Iwasawa theory, and is interesting and valuable for those in many related fields.
This book provides an exposition of function field arithmetic with emphasis on recent developments concerning Drinfeld modules, the arithmetic of special values of transcendental functions (such as zeta and gamma functions and their interpolations), diophantine approximation and related interesting open problems. While it covers many topics treated in 'Basic Structures of Function Field Arithmetic' by David Goss, it complements that book with the inclusion of recent developments as well as the treatment of new topics such as diophantine approximation, hypergeometric functions, modular forms, transcendence, automata and solitons. There is also new work on multizeta values and log-algebraicity. The author has included numerous worked-out examples. Many open problems, which can serve as good thesis problems, are discussed.
