An Excursion in Number Theory

Along with geometry, number theory is one of the oldest and most revered areas of mathematics. Topics that are often studied in an elementary number theory course include triangular numbers, squares, and the Fibonacci sequence. Later topics include continued fractions and a class of equations called Pell’s equation. In this talk, we will show some surprising connections among all of them by focusing on a modern Diophantine equation known as Markov’s equation.  A fair amount of mathematical history will be included throughout the talk to show how mathematical ideas develop and flourish.

Presented by Peter Schumer, Baldwin Professor of Mathematics & Natural Philosophy at Middlebury College