Prime ideals

Main article: Prime ideals

In ring theory, the notion of number is generally replaced with that of ideal. P
rime ideals, which generalize prime elements in the sense that the principal ide
al generated by a prime element is a prime ideal, are an important tool and obje
ct of study in commutative algebra, algebraic number theory and algebraic geomet
ry. The prime ideals of the ring of integers are the ideals (0), (2), (3), (5),
(7), (11),
The fundamental theorem of arithmetic generalizes to the Lasker Noether
theorem, which expresses every ideal in a Noetherian commutative ring as an int
ersection of primary ideals, which are the appropriate generalizations of prime
powers.[46]
Prime ideals are the points of algebro-geometric objects, via the notion of the
spectrum of a ring.[47] Arithmetic geometry also benefits from this notion, and
many concepts exist in both geometry and number theory. For example, factorizati
on or ramification of prime ideals when lifted to an extension field, a basic pr
oblem of algebraic number theory, bears some resemblance with ramification in ge
ometry. Such ramification questions occur even in number-theoretic questions sol
ely concerned with integers. For example, prime ideals in the ring of integers o
f quadratic number fields can be used in proving quadratic reciprocity, a statem
ent that concerns the solvability of quadratic equations
x^2 \equiv p \ \ (\text{mod } q),\,
where x is an integer and p and q are (usual) prime numbers.[48] Early attempts
to prove Fermat's Last Theorem climaxed when Kummer introduced regular primes, p
rimes satisfying a certain requirement concerning the failure of unique factoriz
ation in the ring consisting of expressions
a_0 + a_1 \zeta + \cdots + a_{p-1} \zeta^{p-1}\, ,
where a0, ..., ap-1 are integers and ? is a complex number such that ?p = 1.[49]
Valuations
Valuation theory studies certain functions from a field K to the real numbers R
called valuations.[50] Every such valuation yields a topology on K, and two valu
ations are called equivalent if they yield the same topology. A prime of K (some
times called a place of K) is an equivalence class of valuations. For example, t
he p-adic valuation of a rational number q is defined to be the integer vp(q), s
uch that
q = p^{v_p(q)} \frac {r}{s},
where both r and s are not divisible by p. For example, v3(18/7) = 2. The p-adic
norm is defined as[nb 1]
\left| q \right|_p := p^{-v_p(q)}. \,
In particular, this norm gets smaller when a number is multiplied by p, in sharp
contrast to the usual absolute value (also referred to as the infinite prime).
While completing Q (roughly, filling the gaps) with respect to the absolute valu
e yields the field of real numbers, completing with respect to the p-adic norm |
-|p yields the field of p-adic numbers.[51] These are essentially all possible w
ays to complete Q, by Ostrowski's theorem. Certain arithmetic questions related
to Q or more general global fields may be transferred back and forth to the comp
leted (or local) fields. This local-global principle again underlines the import
ance of primes to number theory.
In the arts and literature

Prime numbers have influenced many artists and writers. The French composer Oliv
ier Messiaen used prime numbers to create ametrical music through "natural pheno
mena". In works such as La Nativit du Seigneur (1935) and Quatre tudes de rythme (
1949 50), he simultaneously employs motifs with lengths given by different prime n
umbers to create unpredictable rhythms: the primes 41, 43, 47 and 53 appear in t
he third tude, "Neumes rythmiques". According to Messiaen this way of composing w
as "inspired by the movements of nature, movements of free and unequal durations
".[52]
In his science fiction novel Contact, NASA scientist Carl Sagan suggested that p
rime numbers could be used as a means of communicating with aliens, an idea that
he had first developed informally with American astronomer Frank Drake in 1975.
[53] In the novel The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Hadd
on, the narrator arranges the sections of the story by consecutive prime numbers
.[54]
Many films, such as Cube, Sneakers, The Mirror Has Two Faces and A Beautiful Min
d reflect a popular fascination with the mysteries of prime numbers and cryptogr
aphy.[55] Prime numbers are used as a metaphor for loneliness and isolation in t
he Paolo Giordano novel The Solitude of Prime Numbers, in which they are portray
ed as "outsiders" among integers.[56]
See also
Adleman Pomerance Rumely primality test
Bonse's inequality
Brun sieve
Burnside theorem
Chebotarev's density theorem
Chinese remainder theorem
Cullen number
Illegal prime
List of prime numbers
Mersenne prime
Multiplicative number theory
Number field sieve
Pepin's test
Practical number
Prime k-tuple
Primon gas
Quadratic residuosity problem
RSA number
Smooth number
Super-prime
Woodall number
Notes
Some sources also put \left| q \right|_p := e^{-v_p(q)}. \,.
Dudley, Underwood (1978), Elementary number theory (2nd ed.), W. H. Freeman
and Co., ISBN 978-0-7167-0076-0, p. 10, section 2
Dudley 1978, Section 2, Theorem 2
Dudley 1978, Section 2, Lemma 5
See, for example, David E. Joyce's commentary on Euclid's Elements, Book VII
, definitions 1 and 2.
Riesel 1994, p. 36
Conway & Guy 1996, pp. 129 130
Derbyshire, John (2003), "The Prime Number Theorem", Prime Obsession: Bernha
rd Riemann and the Greatest Unsolved Problem in Mathematics, Washington, D.C.: J
oseph Henry Press, p. 33, ISBN 978-0-309-08549-6, OCLC 249210614

""Arguments for and against the primality of 1".

"Why is the number one not prime?"
The Largest Known Prime by Year: A Brief History Prime Curios!: 17014 05727 (3
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10964. Katz, Shaul (2004), "Berlin roots Zionist incarnation: the ethos of pure ma
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Letter in Latin from Goldbach to Euler, July 1730.
Furstenberg 1955
Ribenboim 2004, p. 4
James Williamson (translator and commentator), The Elements of Euclid, With
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External links
Look up prime number in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.
Wikinews has related news:
Two largest known prime numbers discovered just two weeks apart; one qualifi
es for $100k prize
Record size 17.4 million-digit prime found
Hazewinkel, Michiel, ed. (2001), "Prime number", Encyclopedia of Mathematics
, Springer, ISBN 978-1-55608-010-4
Caldwell, Chris, The Prime Pages at primes.utm.edu.
Prime Numbers on In Our Time at the BBC.
An Introduction to Analytic Number Theory, by Ilan Vardi and Cyril Banderier
Plus teacher and student package: prime numbers from Plus, the free online m
athematics magazine produced by the Millennium Mathematics Project at the Univer
sity of Cambridge.
Prime number generators and calculators
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