Insights Fermat's Last Theorem

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Fermat's Last Theorem posits that the equation a^n + b^n = c^n has no positive integer solutions for n greater than 2, a claim made by Pierre de Fermat in the 17th century. Despite its simple statement, the theorem remained unproven until Andrew Wiles and Richard Taylor's proof in 1994, which spurred significant advancements in various mathematical fields. The theorem's allure is partly due to Fermat's assertion of having a "wonderful proof," which has led many to attempt simpler proofs, often without success. Discussions around Fermat's mathematical knowledge suggest he lacked the advanced techniques developed after his time, making it unlikely he had a valid proof for the general case. The enduring fascination with Fermat's Last Theorem highlights the complexities of proving non-existence in mathematics.
  • #31
ah - but I'm the sort of person who loves learning by trying again and again... and failing again and again, and again... but if I start to get annoyed them I'll ask here, sure :)
the feeling when you get it right after like an uncannily long time (hours... and hours... and hours... sometimes tens of hours... spent on problems... and getting stuck so many times before finally finding my way out...) is one of the best in the world :rocket:
 
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  • #32
TensorCalculus said:
ah - but I'm the sort of person who loves learning by trying again and again... and failing again and again, and again... but if I start to get annoyed them I'll ask here, sure :)
the feeling when you get it right after like an uncannily long time (hours... and hours... and hours... sometimes tens of hours... spent on problems... and getting stuck so many times before finally finding my way out...) is one of the best in the world :rocket:
There are a few key points that have to be found. Like crossings, where all depend on whether you take the right way. Here is where practice and experience come into play. But, sure, this is a nice problem to gain it.
 
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  • #33
ioustin said:
it has an obvious parity problem.
What has?
 
  • #34
ioustin said:
it has an obvious parity problem.
See post #14 for an explanation. If you like it better without parity problems, then consider
$$
3987^{12}+4365^{12} =(4472.0000000070592907382135292414 \ldots)^{12} \sim 4472^{12},
$$
in which case, you should read the meaning of "almost" as relative error.
 
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  • #35
@fresh_42 I got n=4 a while ago but I've been stuck for too long on n=3 :cry:
do you mind giving me a little hint at what you meant when you said to use complex numbers pleeeease 😇?
 
  • #36
TensorCalculus said:
@fresh_42 I got n=4 a while ago but I've been stuck for too long on n=3 :cry:
do you mind giving me a little hint at what you meant when you said to use complex numbers pleeeease 😇?
Things become more difficult for the ##p=3## case. The basic idea is to translate the additive problem
$$
a^p+b^p=c^p
$$
into a multiplicative problem by writing it as
$$
c^p=a^p+b^p=(a+b)\cdot(a+\zeta b)\cdot (a+ \zeta^2 b)\cdot \ldots \cdot (a+\zeta^{p-1}y)
$$
where ##\zeta## is a root of ##x^p-1=0.## This is a complex number. The crucial point, however, is that it is a polynomial equation with coefficients in the ring ##\mathbb{Z}[\zeta]## as @martinbn has mentioned in post #7. Now we have a multiplicative equation in a ring. This ring has primes. A prime is a number that, if it divides a product, then it has to divide one of its factors. E.g. ##6## divides ##3\cdot 4## but it doesn't divide ##3## or ##4,## so it is not prime. On the other hand, ##3## divides ##2\cdot 6## so it has to divide either ##2## which it does not, or ##6,## which it does divide. And this is true for any factorization of ##1\cdot 12=2\cdot 6= 3\cdot 4,## i.e. ##3## is prime. Hence, if a prime element of ##\mathbb{Z}[\zeta]## divides ##c^p## then it has to divide one of the factors ##a+\zeta^kb## for some ##k<p.##

This is the basic idea.

In the case ##p=3## we may set ##\zeta=\dfrac{1}{2}+ i\dfrac{\sqrt{3}}{2}.## Then ##
\zeta^2=-\dfrac{1}{2}+i\dfrac{\sqrt{3}}{2}## and ##\zeta^3=-1\, , \,\zeta^2-\zeta=-1.## Now,
$$
(a+b)(a-b\zeta)(a+b\zeta^2)=(a+b)\left[a^2-ab+b^2\right]=c^3.
$$
##\mathbb{Z}[\zeta]## has unique prime factor decompositions and is a Euclidean integral domain. Its elements all can be written as ##x+y\zeta +z\zeta^2## with integers ##x,y,z.## However, all numbers ##m^2+3n^2## are reducible, i.e. ##3## is not prime. Its units are all sixth roots of unity, i.e., solutions to ##x^6=1.## All positive integer primes ##p\equiv 2\pmod{3}## are prime in ##\mathbb{Z}[\zeta],## too. All positive integer primes ##p\equiv 1\pmod{3}## are a product of two complex conjugate primes in ##\mathbb{Z}[\zeta].## All those, ##1-\zeta^2=2-\zeta,## and their associates are the prime elements of ##\mathbb{Z}[\zeta].## Associate means up to units. Units are those elements that can be inverted. Of course, we can always multiply units to a number without changing its primality. ##-3## is also a prime integer, however, not in ##\mathbb{Z}[\zeta]## anymore. Anyway, this ring has all the nice properties I listed and allows us to consider divisibilities. These properties are not obvious, so either you trust me or you have to prove them.

The point is, that with primes, a unique prime factor decomposition, and a Euclidean algorithm, a norm function ##N(a+y \sqrt{-3})=x^2+3y^3## to distinguish between larger and smaller numbers, we have all ingredients for number theory on ##\mathbb{Z}[\zeta]## and the investigation of the prime factors of ##c^3## in the now multiplicative equation.

##\mathbb{Z}[\zeta]## are called Eisenstein numbers in case you want to look it up. Also, I think the first source I listed (D. Zachow) has more about Eisenstein numbers and the rings ##\mathbb{Z}[\zeta]## and a proof for the case ##p=3,## but it is in German.
 
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  • #37
I just would have said to the student, "the proof is five hundred pages long."
 
  • #38
fresh_42 said:
Things become more difficult for the ##p=3## case. The basic idea is to translate the additive problem
$$
a^p+b^p=c^p
$$
into a multiplicative problem by writing it as
$$
c^p=a^p+b^p=(a+b)\cdot(a+\zeta b)\cdot (a+ \zeta^2 b)\cdot \ldots \cdot (a+\zeta^{p-1}y)
$$
where ##\zeta## is a root of ##x^p-1=0.## This is a complex number. The crucial point, however, is that it is a polynomial equation with coefficients in the ring ##\mathbb{Z}[\zeta]## as @martinbn has mentioned in post #7. Now we have a multiplicative equation in a ring. This ring has primes. A prime is a number that, if it divides a product, then it has to divide one of its factors. E.g. ##6## divides ##3\cdot 4## but it doesn't divide ##3## or ##4,## so it is not prime. On the other hand, ##3## divides ##2\cdot 6## so it has to divide either ##2## which it does not, or ##6,## which it does divide. And this is true for any factorization of ##1\cdot 12=2\cdot 6= 3\cdot 4,## i.e. ##3## is prime. Hence, if a prime element of ##\mathbb{Z}[\zeta]## divides ##c^p## then it has to divide one of the factors ##a+\zeta^kb## for some ##k<p.##

This is the basic idea.

In the case ##p=3## we may set ##\zeta=\dfrac{1}{2}+ i\dfrac{\sqrt{3}}{2}.## Then ##
\zeta^2=-\dfrac{1}{2}+i\dfrac{\sqrt{3}}{2}## and ##\zeta^3=-1\, , \,\zeta^2-\zeta=-1.## Now,
$$
(a+b)(a-b\zeta)(a+b\zeta^2)=(a+b)\left[a^2-ab+b^2\right]=c^3.
$$
##\mathbb{Z}[\zeta]## has unique prime factor decompositions and is a Euclidean integral domain. Its elements all can be written as ##x+y\zeta +z\zeta^2## with integers ##x,y,z.## However, all numbers ##m^2+3n^2## are reducible, i.e. ##3## is not prime. Its units are all sixth roots of unity, i.e., solutions to ##x^6=1.## All positive integer primes ##p\equiv 2\pmod{3}## are prime in ##\mathbb{Z}[\zeta],## too. All positive integer primes ##p\equiv 1\pmod{3}## are a product of two complex conjugate primes in ##\mathbb{Z}[\zeta].## All those, ##1-\omega^2=2-\omega,## and their associates are the prime elements of ##\mathbb{Z}[\zeta].## Associate means up to units. Units are those elements that can be inverted. Of course, we can always multiply units to a number without changing its primality. ##-3## is also a prime integer, however, not in ##\mathbb{Z}[\zeta]## anymore. Anyway, this ring has all the nice properties I listed and allows us to consider divisibilities. These properties are not obvious, so either you trust me or you have to prove them.

The point is, that with primes, a unique prime factor decomposition, and a Euclidean algorithm, a norm function ##N(a+y \sqrt{-3})=x^2+3y^3## to distinguish between larger and smaller numbers, we have all ingredients for number theory on ##\mathbb{Z}[\zeta]## and the investigation of the prime factors of ##c^3## in the now multiplicative equation.

##\mathbb{Z}[\zeta]## are called Eisenstein numbers in case you want to look it up. Also, I think the first source I listed (D. Zachow) has more about Eisenstein numbers and the rings ##\mathbb{Z}[\zeta]## and a proof for the case ##p=3,## but it is in German.
Wow....
I think this took me a couple of reads (okay... the ring bit... much more than a couple) over to figure out what was going on, but when I did - I was pretty astonished (and you did a good job explaining it in a very understandable way, thank you)
I mean, I wouldn't have been able to come up with something like this on my own for sure... but it's a pretty elegant solution once you get going. Once you realise the trick is to express it in the form
$$ c^p=a^p+b^p=(a+b)\cdot(a+\zeta b)\cdot (a+ \zeta^2 b)\cdot \ldots \cdot (a+\zeta^{p-1}y) $$
then everything just seems to... flow from there. I guess I just never decided to factorise these things because I have never come across a situation in which factorising and getting a complex number in the brackets... if there is a complex root to, say, a quadratic I'm trying to solve, I would just use the quadratic formula and not factorise simply because I am not used to it...
fresh_42 said:
These properties are not obvious, so either you trust me or you have to prove them.
I choose option 2, more fun :) :rocket:

I'm going to try to do some research on Eisenstein Numbers then prove the properties of rings... then prove the n=3 case as a final challenge XD
ahh this is such a nice problem - thank you so so much for the very understandable guidance because I genuinely think I would have been stuck forever without it :cry:. Now time to do some reading on Eisenstein Numbers...
 
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  • #39
aagh the TeX is not rendering
 
  • #40
Hornbein said:
I just would have said to the student, "the proof is five hundred pages long."
One hundred, plus correction.
 
  • #41
fresh_42 said:
One hundred, plus correction.
He includes some of the prerequisites. For a high school student, five hundred is too optimistic. May be one more zero at the end.
 
  • #42
fresh_42 said:
##\mathbb{Z}[\zeta]## has unique prime factor decompositions and is a Euclidean integral domain. Its elements all can be written as ##x+y\zeta +z\zeta^2## with integers ##x,y,z.## However, all numbers ##m^2+3n^2## are reducible, i.e. ##3## is not prime.
You said 3 is not prime above? I don’t follow your logic. You said Fermat had a proof for n=4 and possibly 3. What would that have looked like, i.e. without modern techniques? Thanks.
 
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  • #43
bob012345 said:
You said 3 is not prime above?
Not prime in that ring. It is a prime in the ring of the usual intergers.
bob012345 said:
I don’t follow your logic. You said Fermat had a proof for n=4 and possibly 3. What would that have looked like, i.e. without modern techniques? Thanks.
The proof for four was given above. I doubt he had one for three.
 
  • #44
bob012345 said:
You said 3 is not prime above? I don’t follow your logic.

I had a typo (##\omega## instead of ##\zeta##), which I now corrected. I also admit that I took the information about the non-primality of ##3\in \mathbb{Z}[\zeta]## from the Wikipedia page without checking. We have with ##\zeta=\dfrac{1}{2}+\dfrac{i}{2}\sqrt{3}##
$$
3=\zeta \cdot (2-\zeta)^2,
$$
so all we have to do is to prove that ##2-\zeta\in \mathbb{Z}[\zeta]## isn't a unit since ##3\,\nmid\,(2-\zeta).## From
$$
1=(2-\zeta)(a+b\zeta)=2a+(2b-a)\zeta-b\zeta^2=(2a+b)+(b-a)\zeta
$$
we get ##b=a## and ##3a=1## which isn't solvable in ##\mathbb{Z}[\zeta].## Hence ##2-\zeta## isn't a unit, and ##3## divides a product without dividing one of its factors, so it cannot be prime.

That ##2-\zeta## is actually a prime is a bit more work.

bob012345 said:
You said Fermat had a proof for n=4 and possibly 3. What would that have looked like, i.e. without modern techniques? Thanks.
Well, I don't know what it would look like without using modern terms. One would have to study Fermat's inheritance, since this is where his remarks were found. But I do know that mathematicians at this time have been very ingenious in creating workarounds for modern terms. One could as well operate with an unknown ##x## instead of the explicit formula for ##\zeta,## simply as a non-trivial solution for ##x^3=-1## and then consider divisibilities. Zachows (1st entry in my list of sources) states the following timetable:

Fermat (1601/08–1665) ca. ##1630## problem statement; proof for ##n = 4## and later in hints for ##n=3##

Euler (1707–1783) proof for ##n = 3## using complex numbers, distributed in two different papers.

Gauß (1777–1850) complete proof for ##n = 3## in one piece.

etc.

So it's a) unclear whether Fermat really had a proof, and b) probably easier to search in Euler's or Gauß' papers.
 
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  • #45
There is a book that might be of interest.

"Fermat's Last Theorem: A Genetic Introduction to Algebraic Number Theory" - Harold M. Edwards

This book is an introduction to algebraic number theory via the famous problem of "Fermat's Last Theorem." The exposition follows the historical development of the problem, beginning with the work of Fermat and ending with Kummer's theory of "ideal" factorization, by means of which the theorem is proved for all prime exponents less than 37. The more elementary topics, such as Euler's proof of the impossibilty of x+y=z, are treated in an elementary way, and new concepts and techniques are introduced only after having been motivated by specific problems. The book also covers in detail the application of Kummer's ideal theory to quadratic integers and relates this theory to Gauss' theory of binary quadratic forms, an interesting and important connection that is not explored in any other book.​
 
  • #46
martinbn said:
The exposition follows the historical development of the problem, beginning with the work of Fermat and ending with Kummer's theory of "ideal" factorization, by means ...
I am not 100% certain, but it could well be that Kummer's ideal numbers led to the term ideal. I have found in Dieudonné's book about the history of mathematics between 1700 and 1900 a very nice description of Kummer's idea. He also mentions ideals in the realm of Lie theory, where they have been called "hypercomplex systems". Dieudonné writes about Kummer
Jean Dieudonné said:
As already mentioned, Kummer's goal was to prove Fermat's Conjecture. This is not all; inspired by the work of Gauss, Dirichlet, Jacobi, and Eisenstein on the use of complex numbers in the investigation of the cubic and biquadratic reciprocity laws, he wanted to formulate and prove the general reciprocity laws for the p-th powers. Kummer devoted about twenty of his particularly creative years to these two problems, and the ideas he developed have had a tremendous influence on modern mathematics, the significance of which far exceeds the results he actually achieved. In the course of his research, Kummer was inspired to introduce "ideal numbers." The clarification and generalization of this concept took several decades. Thanks to the work of Kronecker, Dedekind, and E. Noether on this problem, the face of algebra and algebraic geometry has changed completely.
 
  • #47
fresh_42 said:
I am not 100% certain, but it could well be that Kummer's ideal numbers led to the term ideal.
This is 100% the case.
 
  • #48
Ring theory is really cool 👀
but I think I might need to read up a bit more on it before trying to apply it, @martinbn, the book you mentioned, would it cover ring theory? And/or Eisenstein Integers? (And do you think that it would be understandable for a child - amazon said that it was elementary but I know absolutely nothing about maths :cry:)
 
  • #49
I have a copy of Edwards' book on Fermat's Last Theorem. Here are some comments:
  • The book doesn't cover ring theory, per se, but uses the properties of rings. Edwards' genetic approach is historical. He uses the terminology at the time the theory was developed.
  • The book also doesn't use the term Eisenstein integers. However, the discussion of the case n = 3 uses what are now called by that name.
  • The book goes far beyond the individual cases of FLT. It does not cover Wiles' proof.
  • It's a good read just for the historical comments.
  • The book is part of Springer's Graduate Texts in Mathematics series. It's written at a higher level than an undergraduate text.
  • You can read the Introduction and Table of Contents here (in the Read sample link).
I'd be glad to answer any questions that you might have about the book.
 
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  • #50
Petek said:
I have a copy of Edwards' book on Fermat's Last Theorem. Here are some comments:
  • The book doesn't cover ring theory, per se, but uses the properties of rings. Edwards' genetic approach is historical. He uses the terminology at the time the theory was developed.
  • The book also doesn't use the term Eisenstein integers. However, the discussion of the case n = 3 uses what are now called by that name.
  • The book goes far beyond the individual cases of FLT. It does not cover Wiles' proof.
  • It's a good read just for the historical comments.
  • The book is part of Springer's Graduate Texts in Mathematics series. It's written at a higher level than an undergraduate text.
  • You can read the Introduction and Table of Contents here (in the Read sample link).
I'd be glad to answer any questions that you might have about the book.
Oh, okay. Thanks that does clarify it - so this is probably not the book I am looking for.
Maybe I'll just find some resources online that explain ring theory and Eisenstein integers, without proving the n=3 case (since I want to do that myself). This is proving much more difficult than I could have even imagined... it's so interesting that such a simple statement requires such (in the eyes of a student like me) complex methods to prove...
 
  • #51
TensorCalculus said:
Oh, okay. Thanks that does clarify it - so this is probably not the book I am looking for.
Maybe I'll just find some resources online that explain ring theory and Eisenstein integers, without proving the n=3 case (since I want to do that myself). This is proving much more difficult than I could have even imagined... it's so interesting that such a simple statement requires such (in the eyes of a student like me) complex methods to prove...
Here is a pdf that looks very basic to start with. I would skip the section of continued fractions unless you want to read original Euler papers, but it looks quite interesting.
https://resources.saylor.org/wwwres...-Introductory-in-Elementary-Number-Theory.pdf

Search key: "Introduction to elementary number theory + pdf".

Here is one about Eisenstein numbers. How difficult depends on where you want to stop reading it.
https://www.diva-portal.org/smash/get/diva2:1728553/FULLTEXT01.pdf

I searched but couldn't find FLT for n=3 in it, so it should be safe to read, and it has many interesting facts about Eisenstein numbers. But be warned, things can get complicated. I'm not sure whether I would confront a young man with characters on his first encounter with number theory; however, they are an essential tool.

Search key: "Eisenstein numbers + pdf"

Maybe I should have used "Introduction to Eisenstein numbers + pdf" instead.

Only the "+ pdf" part is really important. You get lecture notes and stuff like that rather than colourful websites.
 
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  • #52
Ah yes I remember you mentioning searching for pdfs on another thread (and it works!) Now time to read them through :)

thank you!
 
  • #53
fresh_42 said:
TL;DR Summary: Why it took 350 years and a genius to prove Fermat's Last Theorem.

Fermat's Last Theorem has long been one of the most famous mathematical problems, and is now one of the most famous theorems. It simply states that the equation
$$
a^n+b^n=c^n
$$
has no solutions with positive integers if ##n>2.## It was named after Pierre de Fermat (1607-1665). The problem itself stems from the book Arithmetica by Diophantus of Alexandria. It gained popularity because Fermat noted in his copy

"Cubum autem in duos cubos, aut quadratoquadratum in duos quadratoquadratos, et generaliter nullam in infinitum ultra quadratum potestatem in duas ejusdem nominis fas est dividere: cujus rei demonstrationem mirabilem sane detexi. Hanc marginis exiguitas non caperet."

"It is not possible, however, to decompose a cube into two cubes, or a biquadrate into two biquadrates, and in general, to decompose a power higher than the second into two powers with the same exponent: I have discovered a truly wonderful proof for this, but this margin is too narrow to grasp here."

which has been found after his death. Everybody understands the problem statement, however, it turned out to be extraordinarily difficult to solve, and nobody today assumes that Fermat had actually found a proof for the general case. For example,
$$
6^3+8^3=9^3-1,
$$
is almost a solution for the cubic case. Imagine how many natural numbers we have to rule out as possible solutions. Numbers we cannot even write down in a lifetime. Such considerations aren't even evidence in number theory since exceptions can always occur, but it shows the principal difficulty of any proof of negative results. Non-existence is hard to prove.

Both aspects of the story - the simplicity of the statement and Fermat's provocative remark - were a blessing as well as a curse. A blessing because, during the 350 years it took before Andrew Wiles and Richard Taylor succeeded in providing a complete proof in 1994, extraordinary developments in mathematics were initiated in the effort to prove the statement, especially in number theory, abstract algebra, class field theory, and the theory of elliptic curves. Its curse, however, lies in the fact that to this day, even after the more than 100-page solution to the problem, full of elaborate mathematics, laypeople still attempt to prove the theorem using simple means. It's safe to say that such attempts are doomed from the start. This article aims to shed light on why this is the case.

Continue reading ...
One thing I have never understood about this problem... this is the case in point below... I always thought these two lines representing all Fermat cases was a simple solution and I genuinely thought this is what Fermat meant in the margin comment...

We have two equations. One as simple as it gets. And a second one just a tiny bit more interesting than that.

a^2 + b^2 = c^2

For all integers.

This is the case for all Pythagorean triples. Any c^3 or c^4 or c^n that is a solution for higher powers is a multiple of the right hand side by c ( by c, c^2, c^3, c^4, etc), it is simple to prove that this will never work for any power, when it starts a^2 + b^2. That's child's play.

ALL other integers must be in the format below if not above...

a^2 + b^2 = c^2 + k where k is an integer

The second equation represents all integers which are not the sum of two squares being multiplied by c to raise c from a power of two to any power higher. We can choose any c that would be a third power, a fourth power, or a fifth power, etc and this one equation covers the ones that are not the sum of two squares before we do that.

These two equations represent ALL integers. BOTH are easy to prove. NEITHER needs worry about powers above 3, since the case for 3 can be extended by induction.

What is the flaw in the above?
 
  • #54
Office_Shredder said:
It seems exceedingly unlikely because most of the techniques Wiles used were from branches of math invented well after Fermat died.
If you understand why the Liar's Paradox is nonsense, it goes a long way to show why maths in it's entirety needs to be rewritten in a context free language.
 
  • #55
noelbcornerstone said:
NEITHER needs worry about powers above 3, since the case for 3 can be extended by induction.
There are inifinitely many Pythagorean triplets (##n=2##) and no solution for ##n=4##, why? Euler needed two articles to cover the case ##n=3,## which is a sure indicator that it is not trivial.

But even if we accept the case ##n=3## as given, there is no such thing as an induction. Any induction step fails.
 
  • #56
fresh_42 said:
Things become more difficult for the ##p=3## case. The basic idea is to translate the additive problem
$$
a^p+b^p=c^p
$$
into a multiplicative problem by writing it as
$$
c^p=a^p+b^p=(a+b)\cdot(a+\zeta b)\cdot (a+ \zeta^2 b)\cdot \ldots \cdot (a+\zeta^{p-1}y)
$$
where ##\zeta## is a root of ##x^p-1=0.## This is a complex number. The crucial point, however, is that it is a polynomial equation with coefficients in the ring ##\mathbb{Z}[\zeta]## as @martinbn has mentioned in post #7. Now we have a multiplicative equation in a ring. This ring has primes. A prime is a number that, if it divides a product, then it has to divide one of its factors. E.g. ##6## divides ##3\cdot 4## but it doesn't divide ##3## or ##4,## so it is not prime. On the other hand, ##3## divides ##2\cdot 6## so it has to divide either ##2## which it does not, or ##6,## which it does divide. And this is true for any factorization of ##1\cdot 12=2\cdot 6= 3\cdot 4,## i.e. ##3## is prime. Hence, if a prime element of ##\mathbb{Z}[\zeta]## divides ##c^p## then it has to divide one of the factors ##a+\zeta^kb## for some ##k<p.##

This is the basic idea.

In the case ##p=3## we may set ##\zeta=\dfrac{1}{2}+ i\dfrac{\sqrt{3}}{2}.## Then ##
\zeta^2=-\dfrac{1}{2}+i\dfrac{\sqrt{3}}{2}## and ##\zeta^3=-1\, , \,\zeta^2-\zeta=-1.## Now,
$$
(a+b)(a-b\zeta)(a+b\zeta^2)=(a+b)\left[a^2-ab+b^2\right]=c^3.
$$
##\mathbb{Z}[\zeta]## has unique prime factor decompositions and is a Euclidean integral domain. Its elements all can be written as ##x+y\zeta +z\zeta^2## with integers ##x,y,z.## However, all numbers ##m^2+3n^2## are reducible, i.e. ##3## is not prime. Its units are all sixth roots of unity, i.e., solutions to ##x^6=1.## All positive integer primes ##p\equiv 2\pmod{3}## are prime in ##\mathbb{Z}[\zeta],## too. All positive integer primes ##p\equiv 1\pmod{3}## are a product of two complex conjugate primes in ##\mathbb{Z}[\zeta].## All those, ##1-\zeta^2=2-\zeta,## and their associates are the prime elements of ##\mathbb{Z}[\zeta].## Associate means up to units. Units are those elements that can be inverted. Of course, we can always multiply units to a number without changing its primality. ##-3## is also a prime integer, however, not in ##\mathbb{Z}[\zeta]## anymore. Anyway, this ring has all the nice properties I listed and allows us to consider divisibilities. These properties are not obvious, so either you trust me or you have to prove them.

The point is, that with primes, a unique prime factor decomposition, and a Euclidean algorithm, a norm function ##N(a+y \sqrt{-3})=x^2+3y^3## to distinguish between larger and smaller numbers, we have all ingredients for number theory on ##\mathbb{Z}[\zeta]## and the investigation of the prime factors of ##c^3## in the now multiplicative equation.

##\mathbb{Z}[\zeta]## are called Eisenstein numbers in case you want to look it up. Also, I think the first source I listed (D. Zachow) has more about Eisenstein numbers and the rings ##\mathbb{Z}[\zeta]## and a proof for the case ##p=3,## but it is in German.

Ok, can we please stop this and start with what I said. You are walking down the wrong way, and you have asserted there is no way by induction without a proof. Please follow the below...

All integers that are candidates for ANY solution a^n + b^n = c^n can be rewritten in the form...

1) a^2 + b^2 = c^2

or

2) a^2 + b^2 = c^2 + k

Can we agree these two equations cover every potential solution to Fermat's last theory. If there is an a^3 + b^3 = c^3 solution or a solution with the power 4,5,etc, can all be rewritten to one of the two equations above. i.e. EVERY number that isn't the sum of two squares can be written as the second equation. It really isn't rocket science. This is the first step. We can represent any of the potential solutions without needing to raise any powers above two. Does THAT at least make sense?

If you cannot understand that 1) and 2) cover all integers, can you please explain why?
 
  • #57
noelbcornerstone said:
Ok, can we please stop this and start with what I said. You are walking down the wrong way, and you have asserted there is no way by induction without a proof. Please follow the below...

All integers that are candidates for ANY solution a^n + b^n = c^n can be rewritten in the form...

1) a^2 + b^2 = c^2

or

2) a^2 + b^2 = c^2 + k

Can we agree these two equations cover every potential solution to Fermat's last theory. If there is an a^3 + b^3 = c^3 solution or a solution with the power 4,5,etc, can all be rewritten to one of the two equations above. i.e. EVERY number that isn't the sum of two squares can be written as the second equation. It really isn't rocket science. This is the first step. We can represent any of the potential solutions without needing to raise any powers above two. Does THAT at least make sense?

If you cannot understand that 1) and 2) cover all integers, can you please explain why?
How does this help?
 
  • #58
That is Step 1.

Once we agree that any solution of Fermat's Last Theorem can be written

as

1) a^2 + b^2 = c^2

and

2) a^2 + b^2 - k = c^2

Then by induction for 1 we show any integer solution to FLT must be of the form:

1) c^n(a^2 + b^2) = c^n(c^2)

or

2)c^n(a^2 + b^2 -k) = c^n(c^2)

where n is an integer greater than 0 or we have just the solution for an indice of 2

To raise the indices of a^2 + b^2 by 1, c is required to multiply a and b by different amounts if a and b are not equal, assuming we understand how exponentiation works, so a must equal b for a solution in equation one for a power greater than 2. That covers one set of integers and explains why given all the sum of two squares, why there are NO sums of powers of 4. c^2 would need to multiply a and b by different amounts, any increase in indice for a,b and c does. VERY simple to show for 1)

For 2) To raise indice a and b by one or more, we need an integer for c that multplies -k out and multiplies a and b by different amounts, we cannot do this for 3, and if we could do it for 3, we can show it would mean we couldn't do any higher indices.

This is a simple proof by induction when all written out, without needing the nonsense from before. It looks like this was hard for people because they don't understand that ANY equation can be written in lower powers like this in two forms that covers all possibilities.

I think the nonsense that was spawned from this conjecture just shows how broken maths is and how poorly the language is fit for purpose and how few real mathematicians there are left in the world. This is child's play and simple. I only looked at it for a laugh a couple of days ago, as it was simple to prove and we are looking for something else of ours to go viral, so I thought that showing why maths was broken and rewriting it so we could then solve integer factorisation, would start here. We will be posting all the factors of unfactored RSA numbers too. It's related to why mathematicians struggle with this and also N vs NP, and auto-innovators etc. Start with the two equatons above and figure out why it covers any solution that can exist. This simple change to the way you think will help.

Good luck!
 
  • #59
noelbcornerstone said:
That is Step 1.

Once we agree that any solution of Fermat's Last Theorem can be written

as

1) a^2 + b^2 = c^2

and

2) a^2 + b^2 - k = c^2

Then by induction for 1 we show any integer solution to FLT must be of the form:

1) c^n(a^2 + b^2) = c^n(c^2)

or

2)c^n(a^2 + b^2 -k) = c^n(c^2)

where n is an integer greater than 0 or we have just the solution for an indice of 2

To raise the indices of a^2 + b^2 by 1, c is required to multiply a and b by different amounts if a and b are not equal, assuming we understand how exponentiation works, so a must equal b for a solution in equation one for a power greater than 2. That covers one set of integers and explains why given all the sum of two squares, why there are NO sums of powers of 4. c^2 would need to multiply a and b by different amounts, any increase in indice for a,b and c does. VERY simple to show for 1)

For 2) To raise indice a and b by one or more, we need an integer for c that multplies -k out and multiplies a and b by different amounts, we cannot do this for 3, and if we could do it for 3, we can show it would mean we couldn't do any higher indices.

This is a simple proof by induction when all written out, without needing the nonsense from before. It looks like this was hard for people because they don't understand that ANY equation can be written in lower powers like this in two forms that covers all possibilities.

I think the nonsense that was spawned from this conjecture just shows how broken maths is and how poorly the language is fit for purpose and how few real mathematicians there are left in the world. This is child's play and simple. I only looked at it for a laugh a couple of days ago, as it was simple to prove and we are looking for something else of ours to go viral, so I thought that showing why maths was broken and rewriting it so we could then solve integer factorisation, would start here. We will be posting all the factors of unfactored RSA numbers too. It's related to why mathematicians struggle with this and also N vs NP, and auto-innovators etc. Start with the two equatons above and figure out why it covers any solution that can exist. This simple change to the way you think will help.

Good luck!
All this is nonsense!!

If what yiu wrote made sense it would work for n=2 as well.

Suppose there is a solution to a^2+b^2=c^2, writw it as

1) a+b=c

Or

2) a+b=c+k

Multiply by c and run the same argument. Thus you have proven that there no pythagorian triples.
 
  • #60
One tip for anyone on this thread. The result of what we are doing with integers and integer factorisation will remove the ability to use any form of modular exponentiation, or elliptic curve prime field for encryption. It is very likely the outcome of our work will result in it not being possible to use AES or anything like it for encryption or one way hashing (i.e. if I know what I need to hash to, I can pick any of the numbers that hash to it easily). We are not seeing a mathematical way to encrypt or hash one way after we publish.

This will result in the collapse of bitcoin and other coins in likelihood since proof-of-work is trivialised.

We are not the only party that has figured this out. It is likely actors are going to rug pull bitcoin for sure in the near future.

Example: RSA 100. if we take (d+n)(d+n) - (x+n)(x+n) = c (diff of two squares, d is the root of c)

See that 2a/x is almost exactly equal to x/n, it is only the remainder that fills in the blanks.

There is a class of integers like this. Essential the ratio of the remainder of dividing x by n is in proportion exactly to the ratio of dividing 2a by x. And 2d is 2a + 2x. So for RSA100 we can divided 2d by n. We don't know what n is so we use the number 1 to 10,000 as the amount of n in 2d. We get to 5424. Easy compared to the general number field sieve. At this number we have a chunk of the start of numbers...

a must start with 379... b must start with 400... x must start with 1054 and n must start with 1438... and theta must start with 72.655 (where theta is 2a/x and x/n rememeber that for all c, that if 72.655 x = 2a, then 74.655.. will equal 2d, since (73.655... x 73.655... x n ) squared equals c.

What is so good about that?

The values of x, n, and theta are not random and only possess certain characteristics that are related to the golden ratio, the squre root of two (you can see that in 1438... for n) and the decimal unit 1.

Because these numbers are fixed, it is very simple and very quick to figure out the expansion of the natural log of c, and which are the squares in the exponential function definition that are the ones that give the exact result for c, half of that exponent is obviously the square root of c, and if we know the five contributors in the natural log of c (five dimensions is always the max needed for any problem), then like finding the place of Pi without those in front, we spigot the solution. Works best for the product of two primes.

There are a fixed number of theses types of integer and it's like whether the square is odd and the remainder is even, the other way round. If n is smaller or larger than x and how does that affect theta. And the 'balance number' for that type of integer. In other words, what is the constant that all our variable must equal. This is what maths has been missing for integer factorisation. That pattern that is fixed. The larger the numbers are the easier it is to find.

What we are seeing evidence of is that P = NP. If a problem statement is complete, it is also the solution.
 

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