Dictionary of Algebra, Arithmetic, and Trigonometry
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On the Classification of Finite Simple Groups
On the Classification of Finite Simple Groups Niclas Bernhoff Division for Engineering Sciences, Physics and Mathemathics Karlstad University April6,2004 Abstract This paper is a small note on the classification of finite simple groups for the course ”Symmetries, Groups and Algebras” given at the Depart- ment of Physics at Karlstad University in the Spring 2004. 1Introduction In 1892 Otto Hölder began an article in Mathematische Annalen with the sen- tence ”It would be of the greatest interest if it were possible to give an overview of the entire collection of finite simple groups” (translation from German). This can be seen as the starting point of the classification of simple finite groups. In 1980 the following classification theorem could be claimed. Theorem 1 (The Classification theorem) Let G be a finite simple group. Then G is either (a) a cyclic group of prime order; (b) an alternating group of degree n 5; (c) a finite simple group of Lie type;≥ or (d) one of 26 sporadic finite simple groups. However, the work comprises in total about 10000-15000 pages in around 500 journal articles by some 100 authors. This opens for the question of possible mistakes. In fact, around 1989 Aschbacher noticed that an 800-page manuscript on quasithin groups by Mason was incomplete in various ways; especially it lacked a treatment of certain ”small” cases. Together with S. Smith, Aschbacher is still working to finish this ”last” part of the proof. Solomon predicted this to be finished in 2001-2002, but still until today the paper is not completely finished (see the homepage of S. -
Number Theory
“mcs-ftl” — 2010/9/8 — 0:40 — page 81 — #87 4 Number Theory Number theory is the study of the integers. Why anyone would want to study the integers is not immediately obvious. First of all, what’s to know? There’s 0, there’s 1, 2, 3, and so on, and, oh yeah, -1, -2, . Which one don’t you understand? Sec- ond, what practical value is there in it? The mathematician G. H. Hardy expressed pleasure in its impracticality when he wrote: [Number theorists] may be justified in rejoicing that there is one sci- ence, at any rate, and that their own, whose very remoteness from or- dinary human activities should keep it gentle and clean. Hardy was specially concerned that number theory not be used in warfare; he was a pacifist. You may applaud his sentiments, but he got it wrong: Number Theory underlies modern cryptography, which is what makes secure online communication possible. Secure communication is of course crucial in war—which may leave poor Hardy spinning in his grave. It’s also central to online commerce. Every time you buy a book from Amazon, check your grades on WebSIS, or use a PayPal account, you are relying on number theoretic algorithms. Number theory also provides an excellent environment for us to practice and apply the proof techniques that we developed in Chapters 2 and 3. Since we’ll be focusing on properties of the integers, we’ll adopt the default convention in this chapter that variables range over the set of integers, Z. 4.1 Divisibility The nature of number theory emerges as soon as we consider the divides relation a divides b iff ak b for some k: D The notation, a b, is an abbreviation for “a divides b.” If a b, then we also j j say that b is a multiple of a. -
Janko's Sporadic Simple Groups
Janko’s Sporadic Simple Groups: a bit of history Algebra, Geometry and Computation CARMA, Workshop on Mathematics and Computation Terry Gagen and Don Taylor The University of Sydney 20 June 2015 Fifty years ago: the discovery In January 1965, a surprising announcement was communicated to the international mathematical community. Zvonimir Janko, working as a Research Fellow at the Institute of Advanced Study within the Australian National University had constructed a new sporadic simple group. Before 1965 only five sporadic simple groups were known. They had been discovered almost exactly one hundred years prior (1861 and 1873) by Émile Mathieu but the proof of their simplicity was only obtained in 1900 by G. A. Miller. Finite simple groups: earliest examples É The cyclic groups Zp of prime order and the alternating groups Alt(n) of even permutations of n 5 items were the earliest simple groups to be studied (Gauss,≥ Euler, Abel, etc.) É Evariste Galois knew about PSL(2,p) and wrote about them in his letter to Chevalier in 1832 on the night before the duel. É Camille Jordan (Traité des substitutions et des équations algébriques,1870) wrote about linear groups defined over finite fields of prime order and determined their composition factors. The ‘groupes abéliens’ of Jordan are now called symplectic groups and his ‘groupes hypoabéliens’ are orthogonal groups in characteristic 2. É Émile Mathieu introduced the five groups M11, M12, M22, M23 and M24 in 1861 and 1873. The classical groups, G2 and E6 É In his PhD thesis Leonard Eugene Dickson extended Jordan’s work to linear groups over all finite fields and included the unitary groups. -
FROM HARMONIC ANALYSIS to ARITHMETIC COMBINATORICS: a BRIEF SURVEY the Purpose of This Note Is to Showcase a Certain Line Of
FROM HARMONIC ANALYSIS TO ARITHMETIC COMBINATORICS: A BRIEF SURVEY IZABELLA ÃLABA The purpose of this note is to showcase a certain line of research that connects harmonic analysis, speci¯cally restriction theory, to other areas of mathematics such as PDE, geometric measure theory, combinatorics, and number theory. There are many excellent in-depth presentations of the vari- ous areas of research that we will discuss; see e.g., the references below. The emphasis here will be on highlighting the connections between these areas. Our starting point will be restriction theory in harmonic analysis on Eu- clidean spaces. The main theme of restriction theory, in this context, is the connection between the decay at in¯nity of the Fourier transforms of singu- lar measures and the geometric properties of their support, including (but not necessarily limited to) curvature and dimensionality. For example, the Fourier transform of a measure supported on a hypersurface in Rd need not, in general, belong to any Lp with p < 1, but there are positive results if the hypersurface in question is curved. A classic example is the restriction theory for the sphere, where a conjecture due to E. M. Stein asserts that the Fourier transform maps L1(Sd¡1) to Lq(Rd) for all q > 2d=(d¡1). This has been proved in dimension 2 (Fe®erman-Stein, 1970), but remains open oth- erwise, despite the impressive and often groundbreaking work of Bourgain, Wol®, Tao, Christ, and others. We recommend [8] for a thorough survey of restriction theory for the sphere and other curved hypersurfaces. Restriction-type estimates have been immensely useful in PDE theory; in fact, much of the interest in the subject stems from PDE applications. -
Pure Mathematics
Why Study Mathematics? Mathematics reveals hidden patterns that help us understand the world around us. Now much more than arithmetic and geometry, mathematics today is a diverse discipline that deals with data, measurements, and observations from science; with inference, deduction, and proof; and with mathematical models of natural phenomena, of human behavior, and social systems. The process of "doing" mathematics is far more than just calculation or deduction; it involves observation of patterns, testing of conjectures, and estimation of results. As a practical matter, mathematics is a science of pattern and order. Its domain is not molecules or cells, but numbers, chance, form, algorithms, and change. As a science of abstract objects, mathematics relies on logic rather than on observation as its standard of truth, yet employs observation, simulation, and even experimentation as means of discovering truth. The special role of mathematics in education is a consequence of its universal applicability. The results of mathematics--theorems and theories--are both significant and useful; the best results are also elegant and deep. Through its theorems, mathematics offers science both a foundation of truth and a standard of certainty. In addition to theorems and theories, mathematics offers distinctive modes of thought which are both versatile and powerful, including modeling, abstraction, optimization, logical analysis, inference from data, and use of symbols. Mathematics, as a major intellectual tradition, is a subject appreciated as much for its beauty as for its power. The enduring qualities of such abstract concepts as symmetry, proof, and change have been developed through 3,000 years of intellectual effort. Like language, religion, and music, mathematics is a universal part of human culture. -
From Arithmetic to Algebra
From arithmetic to algebra Slightly edited version of a presentation at the University of Oregon, Eugene, OR February 20, 2009 H. Wu Why can’t our students achieve introductory algebra? This presentation specifically addresses only introductory alge- bra, which refers roughly to what is called Algebra I in the usual curriculum. Its main focus is on all students’ access to the truly basic part of algebra that an average citizen needs in the high- tech age. The content of the traditional Algebra II course is on the whole more technical and is designed for future STEM students. In place of Algebra II, future non-STEM would benefit more from a mathematics-culture course devoted, for example, to an understanding of probability and data, recently solved famous problems in mathematics, and history of mathematics. At least three reasons for students’ failure: (A) Arithmetic is about computation of specific numbers. Algebra is about what is true in general for all numbers, all whole numbers, all integers, etc. Going from the specific to the general is a giant conceptual leap. Students are not prepared by our curriculum for this leap. (B) They don’t get the foundational skills needed for algebra. (C) They are taught incorrect mathematics in algebra classes. Garbage in, garbage out. These are not independent statements. They are inter-related. Consider (A) and (B): The K–3 school math curriculum is mainly exploratory, and will be ignored in this presentation for simplicity. Grades 5–7 directly prepare students for algebra. Will focus on these grades. Here, abstract mathematics appears in the form of fractions, geometry, and especially negative fractions. -
SE 015 465 AUTHOR TITLE the Content of Arithmetic Included in A
DOCUMENT' RESUME ED 070 656 24 SE 015 465 AUTHOR Harvey, John G. TITLE The Content of Arithmetic Included in a Modern Elementary Mathematics Program. INSTITUTION Wisconsin Univ., Madison. Research and Development Center for Cognitive Learning, SPONS AGENCY National Center for Educational Research and Development (DHEW/OE), Washington, D.C. BUREAU NO BR-5-0216 PUB DATE Oct 71 CONTRACT OEC-5-10-154 NOTE 45p.; Working Paper No. 79 EDRS PRICE MF-$0.65 HC-$3.29 DESCRIPTORS *Arithmetic; *Curriculum Development; *Elementary School Mathematics; Geometric Concepts; *Instruction; *Mathematics Education; Number Concepts; Program Descriptions IDENTIFIERS Number Operations ABSTRACT --- Details of arithmetic topics proposed for inclusion in a modern elementary mathematics program and a rationale for the selection of these topics are given. The sequencing of the topics is discussed. (Author/DT) sJ Working Paper No. 19 The Content of 'Arithmetic Included in a Modern Elementary Mathematics Program U.S DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH, EDUCATION & WELFARE OFFICE OF EDUCATION THIS DOCUMENT HAS SEEN REPRO Report from the Project on Individually Guided OUCED EXACTLY AS RECEIVED FROM THE PERSON OR ORGANIZATION ORIG INATING IT POINTS OF VIEW OR OPIN Elementary Mathematics, Phase 2: Analysis IONS STATED 00 NOT NECESSARILY REPRESENT OFFICIAL OFFICE Of LOU Of Mathematics Instruction CATION POSITION OR POLICY V lb. Wisconsin Research and Development CENTER FOR COGNITIVE LEARNING DIE UNIVERSITY Of WISCONSIN Madison, Wisconsin U.S. Office of Education Corder No. C03 Contract OE 5-10-154 Published by the Wisconsin Research and Development Center for Cognitive Learning, supported in part as a research and development center by funds from the United States Office of Education, Department of Health, Educa- tion, and Welfare. -
Outline of Mathematics
Outline of mathematics The following outline is provided as an overview of and 1.2.2 Reference databases topical guide to mathematics: • Mathematical Reviews – journal and online database Mathematics is a field of study that investigates topics published by the American Mathematical Society such as number, space, structure, and change. For more (AMS) that contains brief synopses (and occasion- on the relationship between mathematics and science, re- ally evaluations) of many articles in mathematics, fer to the article on science. statistics and theoretical computer science. • Zentralblatt MATH – service providing reviews and 1 Nature of mathematics abstracts for articles in pure and applied mathemat- ics, published by Springer Science+Business Media. • Definitions of mathematics – Mathematics has no It is a major international reviewing service which generally accepted definition. Different schools of covers the entire field of mathematics. It uses the thought, particularly in philosophy, have put forth Mathematics Subject Classification codes for orga- radically different definitions, all of which are con- nizing their reviews by topic. troversial. • Philosophy of mathematics – its aim is to provide an account of the nature and methodology of math- 2 Subjects ematics and to understand the place of mathematics in people’s lives. 2.1 Quantity Quantity – 1.1 Mathematics is • an academic discipline – branch of knowledge that • Arithmetic – is taught at all levels of education and researched • Natural numbers – typically at the college or university level. Disci- plines are defined (in part), and recognized by the • Integers – academic journals in which research is published, and the learned societies and academic departments • Rational numbers – or faculties to which their practitioners belong. -
18.782 Arithmetic Geometry Lecture Note 1
Introduction to Arithmetic Geometry 18.782 Andrew V. Sutherland September 5, 2013 1 What is arithmetic geometry? Arithmetic geometry applies the techniques of algebraic geometry to problems in number theory (a.k.a. arithmetic). Algebraic geometry studies systems of polynomial equations (varieties): f1(x1; : : : ; xn) = 0 . fm(x1; : : : ; xn) = 0; typically over algebraically closed fields of characteristic zero (like C). In arithmetic geometry we usually work over non-algebraically closed fields (like Q), and often in fields of non-zero characteristic (like Fp), and we may even restrict ourselves to rings that are not a field (like Z). 2 Diophantine equations Example (Pythagorean triples { easy) The equation x2 + y2 = 1 has infinitely many rational solutions. Each corresponds to an integer solution to x2 + y2 = z2. Example (Fermat's last theorem { hard) xn + yn = zn has no rational solutions with xyz 6= 0 for integer n > 2. Example (Congruent number problem { unsolved) A congruent number n is the integer area of a right triangle with rational sides. For example, 5 is the area of a (3=2; 20=3; 41=6) triangle. This occurs iff y2 = x3 − n2x has infinitely many rational solutions. Determining when this happens is an open problem (solved if BSD holds). 3 Hilbert's 10th problem Is there a process according to which it can be determined in a finite number of operations whether a given Diophantine equation has any integer solutions? The answer is no; this problem is formally undecidable (proved in 1970 by Matiyasevich, building on the work of Davis, Putnam, and Robinson). It is unknown whether the problem of determining the existence of rational solutions is undecidable or not (it is conjectured to be so). -
Biased Tadpoles: a Fast Algorithm for Centralizers in Large Matrix Groups
Biased Tadpoles: a Fast Algorithm for Centralizers in Large Matrix Groups Daniel Kunkle and Gene Cooperman College of Computer and Information Science Northeastern University Boston, MA, USA [email protected], [email protected] ABSTRACT of basis formula in linear algebra. Given a group G, the def Centralizers are an important tool in in computational group centralizer subgroup of g G is defined as G(g) = h: h h ∈ C { ∈ theory. Yet for large matrix groups, they tend to be slow. G, g = g . } We demonstrate a O(p G (1/ log ε)) black box randomized Note that the above definition of centralizer is well-defined algorithm that produces| a| centralizer using space logarith- independently of the representation of G. Even for permu- mic in the order of the centralizer, even for typical matrix tation group representations, it is not known whether the groups of order 1020. An optimized version of this algorithm centralizer problem can be solved in polynomial time. Nev- (larger space and no longer black box) typically runs in sec- ertheless, in the permutation group case, Leon produced a onds for groups of order 1015 and minutes for groups of or- partition backtrack algorithm [8, 9] that is highly efficient der 1020. Further, the algorithm trivially parallelizes, and so in practice both for centralizer problems and certain other linear speedup is achieved in an experiment on a computer problems also not known to be in polynomial time. Theißen with four CPU cores. The novelty lies in the use of a bi- produced a particularly efficient implementation of partition ased tadpole, which delivers an order of magnitude speedup backtrack for GAP [17]. -
How to Learn Trigonometry Intuitively | Betterexplained 9/26/15, 12:19 AM
How To Learn Trigonometry Intuitively | BetterExplained 9/26/15, 12:19 AM (/) How To Learn Trigonometry Intuitively by Kalid Azad · 101 comments Tweet 73 Trig mnemonics like SOH-CAH-TOA (http://mathworld.wolfram.com/SOHCAHTOA.html) focus on computations, not concepts: TOA explains the tangent about as well as x2 + y2 = r2 describes a circle. Sure, if you’re a math robot, an equation is enough. The rest of us, with organic brains half- dedicated to vision processing, seem to enjoy imagery. And “TOA” evokes the stunning beauty of an abstract ratio. I think you deserve better, and here’s what made trig click for me. Visualize a dome, a wall, and a ceiling Trig functions are percentages to the three shapes http://betterexplained.com/articles/intuitive-trigonometry/ Page 1 of 48 How To Learn Trigonometry Intuitively | BetterExplained 9/26/15, 12:19 AM Motivation: Trig Is Anatomy Imagine Bob The Alien visits Earth to study our species. Without new words, humans are hard to describe: “There’s a sphere at the top, which gets scratched occasionally” or “Two elongated cylinders appear to provide locomotion”. After creating specific terms for anatomy, Bob might jot down typical body proportions (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Body_proportions): The armspan (fingertip to fingertip) is approximately the height A head is 5 eye-widths wide Adults are 8 head-heights tall http://betterexplained.com/articles/intuitive-trigonometry/ Page 2 of 48 How To Learn Trigonometry Intuitively | BetterExplained 9/26/15, 12:19 AM (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vitruvian_Man) How is this helpful? Well, when Bob finds a jacket, he can pick it up, stretch out the arms, and estimate the owner’s height. -
New Criteria for the Solvability of Finite Groups
CORE Metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.uk Provided by Elsevier - Publisher Connector JOURNAL OF ALGEBRA 77. 234-246 (1982) New Criteria for the Solvability of Finite Groups ZVI ARAD DePartment of Malhematics, Bar-llan Utzioersity. Kamat-Gun. Israel AND MICHAEL B. WARD Department of Mathemalics, Bucknell University, Lewisburg, Penrtsylcania I7837 Communicared by Waher Feif Received September 27. 1981 1. INTRODUCTION All groups considered in this paper are finite. Suppose 7~is a set of primes. A subgroup H of a group G is called a Hall 7r-subgroup of G if every prime dividing ] HI is an element of x and no prime dividing [G : H ] is an element of 71.When p is a prime, p’ denotes the set of all primes different from p. In Hall’s famous characterization of solvable groups he proves that a group is solvable if and only if it has a Hall p’-subgroup for each prime p (see [6] or [ 7, p. 291]). It has been conjectured that a group is solvable if and only if it has a Hall 2’-subgroup and a Hall 3’subgroup (see [ 11). We verify this conjecture for groups whose composition factors are known simple groups. Along the way we also verify (for groups whose composition factors are known simple groups) a conjecture of Hall’s that if a group has a Hall ( p, q}-subgroup for every pair of primes p, 9, then the group is solvable [7, p. 2911. Thus, if one assumes the classification of finite simple groups, then both of these conjectures are settled in the affirmative.