MATH 617 -- Number Theory

Fall 2010

Instructor: Katia Consani
Office: 410B Krieger Hall
Phone: (410) 516-5116.
Email: [email protected]

Class Times: MW, 1:30-2:45 pm.
Room: Kieger 300.


References: The "official" textbook for this course (not required buying it) is: Frohlich and Taylor Algebraic Number-Theory. The following are some books related to the course material:

S. Lang, Algebraic Number Theory , Springer-Verlag, 1994.

G. J. Janusz, Algebraic Number Fields , Providence RI, A.M.S. 1996.

J. Neukirch, Algebraic Number Theory , Springer-Verlag, 1999.

P. Samuel, Algebraic Theory of Numbers


Outline of the course: This course is a one-semester, introductory graduate-level course in algebraic number theory. Topics expected to be covered include: rings of integers, Dedekind domains, number fields, the ideal class group and units, cyclotomic fields, valuations, local fields, adeles and ideles.


Course Description: Algebraic Number Theory begins with the goal to discover to what extent the Fundamental Theorem of arithmetic (on factorization of an integer by a product of prime numbers) holds, or fails to hold, in finite field extensions of the rationals (number fields). This course covers the basic structure of these fields and it focusses on the study of algebraic integers in number fields which play the role analogous to that of the rational integers in the field of the rationals. This course is supposed to give the prerequisites for a more advanced course on class field theory. It is an essential course for anyone wishing to pursue graduate studies in number theory and arithmetic geometry.


Prerequisites: Abstract algebra: including groups, rings and ideals, fields and Galois theory, e.g. 110.401-402 (or equivalent).


Special Notice: This course is listed as a graduate-level course and will be taught as such even in the presence of undergraduate students or graduate students in other subjects i.e. without a full undergraduate math major. That means I will expect a level of scholarly and mathematical maturity appropriate to a first-year graduate student in mathematics. I also expect to complement some of the topics with further material. For this reason I warmly suggest ALL STUDENTS ENROLLED to take notes in class.


Grading: Homework will be assigned periodically during lectures. The exercises will be collected by the instructor who will assign an overall grade. The final grade will be determined by two components: 1) active participation at lectures time, 2) homework performance.