Samuel S. Wagstaff Jr. – författare

Sums of Squares of Integers covers topics in combinatorial number theory as they relate to counting representations of integers as sums of a certain number of squares. The book introduces a stimulating area of number theory where research continues to proliferate. It is a book of "firsts" - namely it is the first book to combine Liouville's elementary methods with the analytic methods of modular functions to study the representation of integers as sums of squares. It is the first book to tell how to compute the number of representations of an integer n as the sum of s squares of integers for any s and n. It is also the first book to give a proof of Szemeredi's theorem, and is the first number theory book to discuss how the modern theory of modular forms complements and clarifies the classical fundamental results about sums of squares.The book presents several existing, yet still interesting and instructive, examples of modular forms. Two chapters develop useful properties of the Bernoulli numbers and illustrate arithmetic progressions, proving the theorems of van der Waerden, Roth, and Szemeredi. The book also explains applications of the theory to three problems that lie outside of number theory in the areas of cryptanalysis, microwave radiation, and diamond cutting. The text is complemented by the inclusion of over one hundred exercises to test the reader's understanding.

This book is about the theory and practice of integer factorisation presented in a historic perspective. It describes about twenty algorithms for factoring and a dozen other number theory algorithms that support the factoring algorithms. Most algorithms are described both in words and in pseudocode to satisfy both number theorists and computer scientists. Each of the ten chapters begins with a concise summary of its contents. The book starts with a general explanation of why factoring integers is important. The next two chapters present number theory results that are relevant to factoring. Further on there is a chapter discussing, in particular, mechanical and electronic devices for factoring, as well as factoring using quantum physics and DNA molecules. Another chapter applies factoring to breaking certain cryptographic algorithms. Yet another chapter is devoted to practical vs. theoretical aspects of factoring. The book contains more than 100 examples illustrating various algorithms and theorems. It also contains more than 100 interesting exercises to test the reader's understanding. Hints or answers are given for about a third of the exercises. The book concludes with a dozen suggestions of possible new methods for factoring integers. This book is written for readers who want to learn more about the best methods of factoring integers, many reasons for factoring, and some history of this fascinating subject. It can be read by anyone who has taken a first course in number theory.

At the heart of modern cryptographic algorithms lies computational number theory. Whether you're encrypting or decrypting ciphers, a solid background in number theory is essential for success. Written by a number theorist and practicing cryptographer, Cryptanalysis of Number Theoretic Ciphers takes you from basic number theory to the inner workings of ciphers and protocols.First, the book provides the mathematical background needed in cryptography as well as definitions and simple examples from cryptography. It includes summaries of elementary number theory and group theory, as well as common methods of finding or constructing large random primes, factoring large integers, and computing discrete logarithms. Next, it describes a selection of cryptographic algorithms, most of which use number theory. Finally, the book presents methods of attack on the cryptographic algorithms and assesses their effectiveness. For each attack method the author lists the systems it applies to and tells how they may be broken with it.Computational number theorists are some of the most successful cryptanalysts against public key systems. Cryptanalysis of Number Theoretic Ciphers builds a solid foundation in number theory and shows you how to apply it not only when breaking ciphers, but also when designing ones that are difficult to break.