Title :
Fermat Meets SWAC: Vandiver, the Lehmers, Computers, and Number Theory
Author_Institution :
Tel Aviv Univ., Tel Aviv
Abstract :
This article describes the work of Harry Schultz Vandiver, Derrick Henry Lehmer, and Emma Lehmer on calculations related with proofs of Fermat´s last theorem. This story sheds light on ideological and institutional aspects of activity in number theory in the US during the 20th century, and on the incursion of computer-assisted methods into pure fields of mathematical research.
Keywords :
number theory; theorem proving; Fermat theorem; electronic digital computer; number theory; Books; Equations; Geophysics computing; Large-scale systems; Mathematics; Meteorology; Fermat´s last theorem; Lehmer; SWAC; Vandiver; number theory;
Journal_Title :
Annals of the History of Computing, IEEE
DOI :
10.1109/MAHC.2008.6
