Number Theory and Its Applications

The contents of this volume range from expository papers on several aspects of number theory, intended for general readers (Steinhaus property of planar regions; experiments with computers; Diophantine approximation; number field sieve), to a collection of research papers for specialists, which are at prestigious journal level. Thus the book leads the reader in many ways not only to the state of the art of number theory but also to its rich garden.
Audience: Researchers and graduate students interested in recent developments in number theory.

This book emphasizes the role of symmetry and presents as many viewpoints as possible of an important phenomenon - the functional equation of the associated zeta-function. It starts from the basics before warping into the space of new interest; from the ground state to the excited state. For example, the Euler function is treated in several different places, as the number of generators of a finite cyclic group, as one counting the order of the multiplicative group of reduced residue classes modulo q, and as the order and degree of the Galois group of the cyclotomic field, respectively.

One of the important principles of learning is to work with the material many times. This book presents many worked-out examples and exercises to enhance the reader's comprehension on the topics covered in an in-depth manner. This is done in a differ-ent setting each time such that the reader will always be challenged. For the keen reader, even browsing the text alone, without solving the exercises, will yield some knowledge and enjoyment.