Algebraic number fieldIn mathematics, an algebraic number field (or simply number field) is an extension field of the field of rational numbers such that the field extension has finite degree (and hence is an algebraic field extension). Thus is a field that contains and has finite dimension when considered as a vector space over . The study of algebraic number fields, and, more generally, of algebraic extensions of the field of rational numbers, is the central topic of algebraic number theory.
Perfect fieldIn algebra, a field k is perfect if any one of the following equivalent conditions holds: Every irreducible polynomial over k has distinct roots. Every irreducible polynomial over k is separable. Every finite extension of k is separable. Every algebraic extension of k is separable. Either k has characteristic 0, or, when k has characteristic p > 0, every element of k is a pth power. Either k has characteristic 0, or, when k has characteristic p > 0, the Frobenius endomorphism x ↦ x^p is an automorphism of k.
Galois extensionIn mathematics, a Galois extension is an algebraic field extension E/F that is normal and separable; or equivalently, E/F is algebraic, and the field fixed by the automorphism group Aut(E/F) is precisely the base field F. The significance of being a Galois extension is that the extension has a Galois group and obeys the fundamental theorem of Galois theory. A result of Emil Artin allows one to construct Galois extensions as follows: If E is a given field, and G is a finite group of automorphisms of E with fixed field F, then E/F is a Galois extension.
Characteristic (algebra)In mathematics, the characteristic of a ring R, often denoted char(R), is defined to be the smallest number of times one must use the ring's multiplicative identity (1) in a sum to get the additive identity (0). If this sum never reaches the additive identity the ring is said to have characteristic zero. That is, char(R) is the smallest positive number n such that: if such a number n exists, and 0 otherwise.
Eisenstein's criterionIn mathematics, Eisenstein's criterion gives a sufficient condition for a polynomial with integer coefficients to be irreducible over the rational numbers – that is, for it to not be factorizable into the product of non-constant polynomials with rational coefficients. This criterion is not applicable to all polynomials with integer coefficients that are irreducible over the rational numbers, but it does allow in certain important cases for irreducibility to be proved with very little effort.
Separable extensionIn field theory, a branch of algebra, an algebraic field extension is called a separable extension if for every , the minimal polynomial of over F is a separable polynomial (i.e., its formal derivative is not the zero polynomial, or equivalently it has no repeated roots in any extension field). There is also a more general definition that applies when E is not necessarily algebraic over F. An extension that is not separable is said to be inseparable.
Reduced ringIn ring theory, a branch of mathematics, a ring is called a reduced ring if it has no non-zero nilpotent elements. Equivalently, a ring is reduced if it has no non-zero elements with square zero, that is, x2 = 0 implies x = 0. A commutative algebra over a commutative ring is called a reduced algebra if its underlying ring is reduced. The nilpotent elements of a commutative ring R form an ideal of R, called the nilradical of R; therefore a commutative ring is reduced if and only if its nilradical is zero.
NilpotentIn mathematics, an element of a ring is called nilpotent if there exists some positive integer , called the index (or sometimes the degree), such that . The term, along with its sister idempotent, was introduced by Benjamin Peirce in the context of his work on the classification of algebras. This definition can be applied in particular to square matrices. The matrix is nilpotent because . See nilpotent matrix for more. In the factor ring , the equivalence class of 3 is nilpotent because 32 is congruent to 0 modulo 9.
Absolute Galois groupIn mathematics, the absolute Galois group GK of a field K is the Galois group of Ksep over K, where Ksep is a separable closure of K. Alternatively it is the group of all automorphisms of the algebraic closure of K that fix K. The absolute Galois group is well-defined up to inner automorphism. It is a profinite group. (When K is a perfect field, Ksep is the same as an algebraic closure Kalg of K. This holds e.g. for K of characteristic zero, or K a finite field.) The absolute Galois group of an algebraically closed field is trivial.
Regular local ringIn commutative algebra, a regular local ring is a Noetherian local ring having the property that the minimal number of generators of its maximal ideal is equal to its Krull dimension. In symbols, let A be a Noetherian local ring with maximal ideal m, and suppose a1, ..., an is a minimal set of generators of m. Then by Krull's principal ideal theorem n ≥ dim A, and A is defined to be regular if n = dim A. The appellation regular is justified by the geometric meaning.
Local fieldIn mathematics, a field K is called a (non-Archimedean) local field if it is complete with respect to a topology induced by a discrete valuation v and if its residue field k is finite. Equivalently, a local field is a locally compact topological field with respect to a non-discrete topology. Sometimes, real numbers R, and the complex numbers C (with their standard topologies) are also defined to be local fields; this is the convention we will adopt below.
Complex multiplicationIn mathematics, complex multiplication (CM) is the theory of elliptic curves E that have an endomorphism ring larger than the integers. Put another way, it contains the theory of elliptic functions with extra symmetries, such as are visible when the period lattice is the Gaussian integer lattice or Eisenstein integer lattice. It has an aspect belonging to the theory of special functions, because such elliptic functions, or abelian functions of several complex variables, are then 'very special' functions satisfying extra identities and taking explicitly calculable special values at particular points.
Ramification (mathematics)In geometry, ramification is 'branching out', in the way that the square root function, for complex numbers, can be seen to have two branches differing in sign. The term is also used from the opposite perspective (branches coming together) as when a covering map degenerates at a point of a space, with some collapsing of the fibers of the mapping. Branch point In complex analysis, the basic model can be taken as the z → zn mapping in the complex plane, near z = 0.
Cyclotomic fieldIn number theory, a cyclotomic field is a number field obtained by adjoining a complex root of unity to Q, the field of rational numbers. Cyclotomic fields played a crucial role in the development of modern algebra and number theory because of their relation with Fermat's Last Theorem. It was in the process of his deep investigations of the arithmetic of these fields (for prime n) – and more precisely, because of the failure of unique factorization in their rings of integers – that Ernst Kummer first introduced the concept of an ideal number and proved his celebrated congruences.
Global fieldIn mathematics, a global field is one of two type of fields (the other one is local field) which are characterized using valuations. There are two kinds of global fields: Algebraic number field: A finite extension of Global function field: The function field of an algebraic curve over a finite field, equivalently, a finite extension of , the field of rational functions in one variable over the finite field with elements. An axiomatic characterization of these fields via valuation theory was given by Emil Artin and George Whaples in the 1940s.
Finite fieldIn mathematics, a finite field or Galois field (so-named in honor of Évariste Galois) is a field that contains a finite number of elements. As with any field, a finite field is a set on which the operations of multiplication, addition, subtraction and division are defined and satisfy certain basic rules. The most common examples of finite fields are given by the integers mod p when p is a prime number. The order of a finite field is its number of elements, which is either a prime number or a prime power.
Galois groupIn mathematics, in the area of abstract algebra known as Galois theory, the Galois group of a certain type of field extension is a specific group associated with the field extension. The study of field extensions and their relationship to the polynomials that give rise to them via Galois groups is called Galois theory, so named in honor of Évariste Galois who first discovered them. For a more elementary discussion of Galois groups in terms of permutation groups, see the article on Galois theory.
FractionA fraction (from fractus, "broken") represents a part of a whole or, more generally, any number of equal parts. When spoken in everyday English, a fraction describes how many parts of a certain size there are, for example, one-half, eight-fifths, three-quarters. A common, vulgar, or simple fraction (examples: and ) consists of an integer numerator, displayed above a line (or before a slash like ), and a non-zero integer denominator, displayed below (or after) that line.
