Elliptic Tales: Curves, Counting, and Number Theory - Paperback

by Avner Ash (Author), Robert Gross (Author)

A look at one of the most exciting unsolved problems in mathematics today

Elliptic Tales describes the latest developments in number theory by looking at one of the most exciting unsolved problems in contemporary mathematics--the Birch and Swinnerton-Dyer Conjecture. In this book, Avner Ash and Robert Gross guide readers through the mathematics they need to understand this captivating problem.

The key to the conjecture lies in elliptic curves, which may appear simple, but arise from some very deep--and often very mystifying--mathematical ideas. Using only basic algebra and calculus while presenting numerous eye-opening examples, Ash and Gross make these ideas accessible to general readers, and, in the process, venture to the very frontiers of modern mathematics.

Back Jacket

"Assuming only what every mathematically inclined freshman should know, this book leads the reader to an understanding of one of the most important conjectures in current number theory--whose proof is one of the Clay Mathematics Institute's million-dollar prize problems. The book is carefully and clearly written, and can be recommended without hesitation."--Peter Swinnerton-Dyer, University of Cambridge

"The Birch and Swinnerton-Dyer Conjecture is one of the great insights in number theory from the twentieth century, and Ash and Gross write with care and a clear love of the subject. Elliptic Tales will have wide appeal."--Peter Sarnak, Princeton University

Author Biography

Avner Ash is professor of mathematics at Boston College. Robert Gross is associate professor of mathematics at Boston College. They are the coauthors of Fearless Symmetry: Exposing the Hidden Patterns of Numbers (Princeton).