Developed from the author's popular text, A Concise Introduction to the Theory of Numbers, this book provides a comprehensive initiation to all the major branches of number theory. Beginning with the rudiments of the subject, the author proceeds to more advanced topics, including elements of cryptography and primality testing, an account of number fields in the classical vein including properties of their units, ideals and ideal classes, aspects of analytic number theory including studies of the Riemann zeta-function, the prime-number theorem and primes in arithmetical progressions, a description of the Hardy-Littlewood and sieve methods from respectively additive and multiplicative number theory and an exposition of the arithmetic of elliptic curves. The book includes many worked examples, exercises and further reading. Its wider coverage and versatility make this book suitable for courses extending from the elementary to beginning graduate studies.
The author's classic concise introduction now fully updated and developed to suit courses extending from primers to introductions to research.About the AuthorAlan Baker is Emeritus Professor of Pure Mathematics in the University of Cambridge and Fellow of Trinity College, Cambridge. His many distinctions include the Fields Medal (1970) and the Adams Prize (1972).
Reviews'[Baker] ... possesses ... powerful gifts for precision and concision ... [the book] never seems rushed or artificially compressed. Highly recommended.' D. V. Feldman, Choice
Book InformationISBN 9781107603790
Author Alan BakerFormat Paperback
Page Count 264
Imprint Cambridge University PressPublisher Cambridge University Press
Weight(grams) 390g
Dimensions(mm) 228mm * 152mm * 15mm