41 - 50 of 165 results for: MATH

Fundamental group, covering spaces, Euler characteristic, homology, classification of surfaces, knots. Prerequisite: 109 or 120.

Counting; axioms of probability; conditioning and independence; expectation and variance; discrete and continuous random variables and distributions; joint distributions and dependence; central limit theorem and laws of large numbers. Prerequisite: 52 or consent of instructor.

Euclid's algorithm, fundamental theorems on divisibility; prime numbers; congruence of numbers; theorems of Fermat, Euler, Wilson; congruences of first and higher degrees; quadratic residues; introduction to the theory of binary quadratic forms; quadratic reciprocity; partitions.

Properties of number fields and Dedekind domains, quadratic and cyclotomic fields, applications to some classical Diophantine equations; introduction to elliptic curves. Prerequisites: 120 and 121, especially modules over principal ideal domains and Galois theory of finite fields.

Topics in analytic number theory such as the distribution of prime numbers, the prime number theorem, twin primes and Goldbach's conjecture, the theory of quadratic forms, Dirichlet's class number formula, Dirichlet's theorem on primes in arithmetic progressions, and the fifteen theorem. Prerequisite: 152, or familiarity with the Euclidean algorithm, congruences, residue classes and reduced residue classes, primitive roots, and quadratic reciprocity.

Modern discrete probabilistic methods suitable for analyzing discrete structures of the type arising in number theory, graph theory, combinatorics, computer science, information theory and molecular sequence analysis. Prerequisite: STATS 116/ MATH 151 or equivalent.

Informal and axiomatic set theory: sets, relations, functions, and set-theoretical operations. The Zermelo-Fraenkel axiom system and the special role of the axiom of choice and its various equivalents. Well-orderings and ordinal numbers; transfinite induction and transfinite recursion. Equinumerosity and cardinal numbers; Cantor's Alephs and cardinal arithmetic. Open problems in set theory. Prerequisite: students should be comfortable doing proofs.

(Graduate students register for PHIL 262.) General survey of the philosophy of mathematics, focusing on epistemological issues. Includes survey of some basic concepts (proof, axiom, definition, number, set); mind-bending theorems about the limits of our current mathematical knowledge, such as Gödel's Incompleteness Theorems, and the independence of the continuum hypothesis from the current axioms of set theory; major philosophical accounts of mathematics: Logicism, Intuitionism, Hilbert's program, Quine's empiricism, Field's program, Structuralism; concluding with a discussion of Eugene Wigner's `The Unreasonable Effectiveness of Mathematics in the Natural Sciences'. Students won't be expected to prove theorems or complete mathematical exercises. However, includes some material of a technical nature. Prerequisite: PHIL150 or consent of instructor.

(Formerly CLASSGEN 103.) How was mathematics invented? A survey of the main creative ideas of ancient Greek mathematics. Among the issues explored are the axiomatic system of Euclid's Elements, the origins of the calculus in Greek measurements of solids and surfaces, and Archimedes' creation of mathematical physics. We will provide proofs of ancient theorems, and also learn how such theorems are even known today thanks to the recovery of ancient manuscripts.