Number Theory Commons^™

Mathematics Education From A Mathematicians Point Of View, Nan Woodson Simpson

Masters Theses

This study has been written to illustrate the development from early mathematical learning (grades 3-8) to secondary education regarding the Fundamental Theorem of Arithmetic and the Fundamental Theorem of Algebra. It investigates the progression of the mathematics presented to the students by the current curriculum adopted by the Rhea County School System and the mathematics academic standards set forth by the State of Tennessee.

On Sums Of Binary Hermitian Forms, Cihan Karabulut

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

In one of his papers, Zagier defined a family of functions as sums of powers of quadratic polynomials. He showed that these functions have many surprising properties and are related to modular forms of integral weight and half integral weight, certain values of Dedekind zeta functions, Diophantine approximation, continued fractions, and Dedekind sums. He used the theory of periods of modular forms to explain the behavior of these functions. We study a similar family of functions, defining them using binary Hermitian forms. We show that this family of functions also have similar properties.

Explicit Reciprocity Laws For Higher Local Fields, Jorge Florez

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

In this thesis we generalize to higher dimensional local fields the explicit reciprocity laws of Kolyvagin for the Kummer pairing associated to a formal group. The formulas obtained describe the values of the pairing in terms of multidimensional p-adic differentiation, the logarithm of the formal group, the generalized trace and the norm on Milnor K-groups.

Explicit Formulae And Trace Formulae, Tian An Wong

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

In this thesis, motivated by an observation of D. Hejhal, we show that the explicit formulae of A. Weil for sums over zeroes of Hecke L-functions, via the Maass-Selberg relation, occur in the continuous spectral terms in the Selberg trace formula over various number fields. In Part I, we discuss the relevant parts of the trace formulae classically and adelically, developing the necessary representation theoretic background. In Part II, we show how show the explicit formulae intervene, using the classical formulation of Weil; then we recast this in terms of Weil distributions and the adelic formulation of Weil. As an …

On The Free And G-Saturated Weight Monoids Of Smooth Affine Spherical Varieties For G=Sl(N), Won Geun Kim

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Let $X$ be an affine algebraic variety over $\mathbb{C}$ equipped with an action of a connected reductive group $G$. The weight monoid $\Gamma(X)$ of $X$ is the set of isomorphism classes of irreducible representations of $G$ that occur in the coordinate ring $\mathbb{C}[X]$ of $X$. Losev has shown that if $X$ is a smooth affine spherical variety, that is, if $X$ is smooth and $\mathbb{C}[X]$ is multiplicity-free as a representation of $G$, then $\Gamma(X)$ determines $X$ up to equivariant automorphism.

Pezzini and Van Steirteghem have recently obtained a combinatorial characterization of the weight monoids of smooth affine spherical varieties, using …

Nullification Of Torus Knots And Links, Zachary S. Bettersworth

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

Knot nullification is an unknotting operation performed on knots and links that can be used to model DNA recombination moves of circular DNA molecules in the laboratory. Thus nullification is a biologically relevant operation that should be studied.

Nullification moves can be naturally grouped into two classes: coherent nullification, which preserves the orientation of the knot, and incoherent nullification, which changes the orientation of the knot. We define the coherent (incoherent) nullification number of a knot or link as the minimal number of coherent (incoherent) nullification moves needed to unknot any knot or link. This thesis concentrates on the study …

Cayley Graphs Of Semigroups And Applications To Hashing, Bianca Sosnovski

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

In 1994, Tillich and Zemor proposed a scheme for a family of hash functions that uses products of matrices in groups of the form $SL_2(F_{2^n})$. In 2009, Grassl et al. developed an attack to obtain collisions for palindromic bit strings by exploring a connection between the Tillich-Zemor functions and maximal length chains in the Euclidean algorithm for polynomials over $F_2$.

In this work, we present a new proposal for hash functions based on Cayley graphs of semigroups. In our proposed hash function, the noncommutative semigroup of linear functions under composition is considered as platform for the scheme. We will also …

P-Adic L-Functions And The Geometry Of Hida Families, Joseph Kramer-Miller

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

A major theme in the theory of $p$-adic deformations of automorphic forms is how $p$-adic $L$-functions over eigenvarieties relate to the geometry of these eigenvarieties. In this talk we explain results in this vein for the ordinary part of the eigencurve (i.e. Hida families). We address how Taylor expansions of one variable $p$-adic $L$-functions varying over families can detect geometric phenomena: crossing components of a certain intersection multiplicity and ramification over the weight space. Our methods involve proving a converse to a result of Vatsal relating congruences between eigenforms to their algebraic special $L$-values and then $p$-adically interpolating congruences using …

Comparing Local Constants Of Ordinary Elliptic Curves In Dihedral Extensions, Sunil Chetty

Mathematics Faculty Publications

We establish, for a substantial class of elliptic curves, that the arithmetic local constants introduced by Mazur and Rubin agree with quotients of analytic root numbers.

The Evolution Of Cryptology, Gwendolyn Rae Souza

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

We live in an age when our most private information is becoming exceedingly difficult to keep private. Cryptology allows for the creation of encryptive barriers that protect this information. Though the information is protected, it is not entirely inaccessible. A recipient may be able to access the information by decoding the message. This possible threat has encouraged cryptologists to evolve and complicate their encrypting methods so that future information can remain safe and become more difficult to decode. There are various methods of encryption that demonstrate how cryptology continues to evolve through time. These methods revolve around different areas of …

Mathematical Reasoning And The Inductive Process: An Examination Of The Law Of Quadratic Reciprocity, Nitish Mittal

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

This project investigates the development of four different proofs of the law of quadratic reciprocity, in order to study the critical reasoning process that drives discovery in mathematics. We begin with an examination of the first proof of this law given by Gauss. We then describe Gauss’ fourth proof of this law based on Gauss sums, followed by a look at Eisenstein’s geometric simplification of Gauss’ third proof. Finally, we finish with an examination of one of the modern proofs of this theorem published in 1991 by Rousseau. Through this investigation we aim to analyze the different strategies used in …

Counting Solutions To Discrete Non-Algebraic Equations Modulo Prime Powers, Abigail Mann

Mathematical Sciences Technical Reports (MSTR)

As society becomes more reliant on computers, cryptographic security becomes increasingly important. Current encryption schemes include the ElGamal signature scheme, which depends on the complexity of the discrete logarithm problem. It is thought that the functions that such schemes use have inverses that are computationally intractable. In relation to this, we are interested in counting the solutions to a generalization of the discrete logarithm problem modulo a prime power. This is achieved by interpolating to p-adic functions, and using Hensel's lemma, or other methods in the case of singular lifting, and the Chinese Remainder Theorem.

Statistical Analysis Of Binary Functional Graphs Of The Discrete Logarithm, Mitchell Orzech

Mathematical Sciences Technical Reports (MSTR)

The increased use of cryptography to protect our personal information makes us want to understand the security of cryptosystems. The security of many cryptosystems relies on solving the discrete logarithm, which is thought to be relatively difficult. Therefore, we focus on the statistical analysis of certain properties of the graph of the discrete logarithm. We discovered the expected value and variance of a certain property of the graph and compare the expected value to experimental data. Our finding did not coincide with our intuition of the data following a Gaussian distribution given a large sample size. Thus, we found the …

On The Dimension Of Algebraic-Geometric Trace Codes, Phong Le, Sunil Chetty

Mathematics Faculty Publications

We study trace codes induced from codes defined by an algebraic curve X. We determine conditions on X which admit a formula for the dimension of such a trace code. Central to our work are several dimension reducing methods for the underlying functions spaces associated to X.

Drawing Numbers And Listening To Patterns, Loren Zo Haynes

Honors College Theses

The triangular numbers is a series of number that add the natural numbers. Parabolic shapes emerge when this series is placed on a lattice, or imposed with a limited number of columns that causes the sequence to continue on the next row when it has reached the kth column. We examine these patterns and construct proofs that explain their behavior. We build off of this to see what happens to the patterns when there is not a limited number of columns, and we formulate the graphs as musical patterns on a staff, using each column as a line or space …

General Multi-Sum Transformations And Some Implications, James Mclaughlin

Mathematics Faculty Publications

We give two general transformations that allows certain quite general basic hypergeometric multi-sums of arbitrary depth (sums that involve an arbitrary sequence {g(k)}), to be reduced to an infinite q-product times a single basic hypergeometric sum. Various applications are given, including summation formulae for some q orthogonal polynomials, and various multisums that are expressible as infinite products.

The History And Applications Of Fibonacci Numbers, Cashous W. Bortner, Allan C. Peterson

UCARE Research Products

The Fibonacci sequence is arguably the most observed sequence not only in mathematics, but also in nature. As we begin to learn more and more about the Fibonacci sequence and the numbers that make the sequence, many new and interesting applications of the have risen from different areas of algebra to market trading strategies. This poster analyzes not only the history of Leonardo Bonacci, but also the elegant sequence that is now his namesake and its appearance in nature as well as some of its current mathematical and non-mathematical applications.

Cyclic Critical Groups Of Graphs, Ryan P. Becker, Darren B. Glass

Math Faculty Publications

In this note, we describe a construction that leads to families of graphs whose critical groups are cyclic. For some of these families we are able to give a formula for the number of spanning trees of the graph, which then determines the group exactly.

Tabulating Pseudoprimes And Tabulating Liars, Andrew Shallue

Scholarship

This paper explores the asymptotic complexity of two problems related to the Miller-Rabin-Selfridge primality test. The first problem is to tabulate strong pseudoprimes to a single fixed base $a$. It is now proven that tabulating up to $x$ requires $O(x)$ arithmetic operations and $O(x\log{x})$ bits of space.The second problem is to find all strong liars and witnesses, given a fixed odd composite $n$.This appears to be unstudied, and a randomized algorithm is presented that requires an expected $O((\log{n})^2 + |S(n)|)$ operations (here $S(n)$ is the set of strong liars).Although interesting in their own right, a notable application is the search …

Kronecker's Theory Of Binary Bilinear Forms With Applications To Representations Of Integers As Sums Of Three Squares, Jonathan A. Constable

Theses and Dissertations--Mathematics

In 1883 Leopold Kronecker published a paper containing “a few explanatory remarks” to an earlier paper of his from 1866. His work loosely connected the theory of integral binary bilinear forms to the theory of integral binary quadratic forms. In this dissertation we discover the statements within Kronecker's paper and offer detailed arithmetic proofs. We begin by developing the theory of binary bilinear forms and their automorphs, providing a classification of integral binary bilinear forms up to equivalence, proper equivalence and complete equivalence.

In the second chapter we introduce the class number, proper class number and complete class number as …

Arithmetic Local Constants For Abelian Varieties With Extra Endomorphisms, Sunil Chetty

Mathematics Faculty Publications

This work generalizes the theory of arithmetic local constants, introduced by Mazur and Rubin, to better address abelian varieties with a larger endomorphism ring than ℤ. We then study the growth of the p^∞- Selmer rank of our abelian variety, and we address the problem of extending the results of Mazur and Rubin to dihedral towers k ⊂ K ⊂ F in which [F : K] is not a p-power extension.

The Schur Factorization Property As It Applies To Subsets Of The General Laguerre Polynomials, Christopher A. Gunnell

Senior Projects Spring 2016

Senior Project submitted to The Division of Science, Mathematics and Computing of Bard College.

Refinements Of Some Partition Inequalities, James Mclaughlin

Mathematics Faculty Publications

In the present paper we initiate the study of a certain kind of partition inequality, by showing, for example, that if M ≥ 5 is an integer and the integers a and b are relatively prime to M and satisfy 1 ≤ a < b < M/2, and the c(m, n) are defined by 1 (sqa, sqM−a; qM)∞ − 1 (sqb , sqM−b ; qM)∞ := X m,n≥0 c(m, n)s mq n , then c(m, Mn) ≥ 0 for all integers m ≥ 0, n ≥ 0. A similar result is proved for the integers d(m, n) defined by (−sqa , −sqM−a ; q M)∞ − (−sqb , −sqM−b ; q M)∞ := X m,n≥0 d(m, n)s mq n . In each case there are obvious interpretations in terms of integer partitions. For example, if p1,5(m, n) (respectively p2,5(m, n)) denotes the number of partitions of n into exactly m parts ≡ ±1( mod 5) (respectively ≡ ±2( mod 5)), then for each integer n ≥ 1, p1,5(m, 5n) ≥ p2,5(m, 5n), 1 ≤ m ≤ 5n.

Mathematics. Possible Subjects For The High School Entrance Examination And The Capacity Examination In Romania, Florentin Smarandache, Constantin Coanda, Ionuț Ivanescu

Branch Mathematics and Statistics Faculty and Staff Publications

The present book tries to offer students and teachers knowledge evaluation tools for all the chapters from the current Romanian mathematics syllabus. In the evolution of teenagers, the phase of admission in high schools mobilizes particular efforts and emotions. The present workbook aims to be a permanent advisor in the agitated period starting with the capacity examination and leading to the admittance to high school. The tests included in this workbook have a complementary character as opposed to the many materials written with the purpose to support all those who prepare for such examinations and they refer to the entire …

Adinkras And Arithmetical Graphs, Madeleine Weinstein

HMC Senior Theses

Adinkras and arithmetical graphs have divergent origins. In the spirit of Feynman diagrams, adinkras encode representations of supersymmetry algebras as graphs with additional structures. Arithmetical graphs, on the other hand, arise in algebraic geometry, and give an arithmetical structure to a graph. In this thesis, we will interpret adinkras as arithmetical graphs and see what can be learned.

Our work consists of three main strands. First, we investigate arithmetical structures on the underlying graph of an adinkra in the specific case where the underlying graph is a hypercube. We classify all such arithmetical structures and compute some of the corresponding …

Mckay Graphs And Modular Representation Theory, Polina Aleksandrovna Vulakh

Senior Projects Spring 2016

Ordinary representation theory has been widely researched to the extent that there is a well-understood method for constructing the ordinary irreducible characters of a finite group. In parallel, John McKay showed how to associate to a finite group a graph constructed from the group's irreducible representations. In this project, we prove a structure theorem for the McKay graphs of products of groups as well as develop formulas for the graphs of two infinite families of groups. We then study the modular representations of these families and give conjectures for a modular version of the McKay graphs.

Visual Properties Of Generalized Kloosterman Sums, Paula Burkhardt '16, Alice Zhuo-Yu Chan '14, Gabriel Currier '16, Stephan Ramon Garcia, Florian Luca, Hong Suh '16

Pomona Faculty Publications and Research

For a positive integer m and a subgroup A of the unit group (Z/mZ)^x, the corresponding generalized Kloosterman sum is the function K(a, b, m, A) = Σ_uEA e(au+bu^-1/m). Unlike classical Kloosterman sums, which are real valued, generalized Kloosterman sums display a surprising array of visual features when their values are plotted in the complex plane. In a variety of instances, we identify the precise number-theoretic conditions that give rise to particular phenomena.

The Monochromatic Column Problem: The Prime Case, Loran Elizabeth Crowell

Online Theses and Dissertations

Let p1, p2, . . . , pn be pairwise coprime positive integers and let P = p1p2 · · · pn. Let 0,1,...,m−1 be a sequence of m different colors. Let A be an n×mP matrix of colors in which row i consists of blocks of pi consecutive entries of the same color, with colors 0 through m − 1 repeated cyclically. The Monochromatic Column problem is to determine the number of columns of A in which every entry is the same color. A partial solution for the case when m is prime is given.

A Measure Theoretic Approach To Problems Of Number Theory With Applications To The Proof Of The Prime Number Theorem, Russell Lee Jahn

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

In this paper we demonstrate how the principles of measure theory can be applied effectively to problems of number theory. Initially, necessary concepts from number theory will be presented. Next, we state standard concepts and results from measure theory to which we will need to refer. We then develop our repertoire of measure theoretic machinery by constructing the needed measures and defining a generalized version of the multiplicative convolution of measures. A suitable integration by parts formula, one that is general enough to handle various combinations of measures, will then be derived. At this juncture we will be ready to …

A Computational And Theoretical Exploration Of The St. Petersburg Paradox, Alexander Olivero

Undergraduate Honors Thesis Collection

This thesis displays a sample distribution, generated from both a simulation (for large n) by computer program and explicitly calculated (for smaller n), that is not governed by the Central Limit Theorem and, in fact seems to display chaotic behavior. To our knowledge, the explicit calculation of the sample distribution function is new. This project outlines the results that have found a relation to number theory in a probabilistic game that has perplexed mathematicians for hundreds of years.