One of the liveliest branches of mathematics, number theory is noted for its theoretical depth and applications to other fields. Number theory is replete with sophisticated problems. However, at its foundation are basic, elementary ideas that can stimulate and challenge beginning students. This introductory textbook takes a problem-solving approach to number theory, situating each concept within the framework of an example or a problem for readers to solve. Starting with the essentials, the text includes coverage of divisibility, unique factorization, modular arithmetic and the Chinese Remainder Theorem, Diophantine equations, and binomial coefficients. By emphasizing examples and applications the authors motivate and engage readers. The exposition proceeds incrementally from first principles, starting with the natural numbers and then intuitively and rigorously uncovering deeper properties. A comprehensive index and selected solutions complete the work.

Autorentext

Titu Andreescu received his Ph.D. from the West University of Timisoara, Romania. The topic of his dissertation was "Research on Diophantine Analysis and Applications." Professor Andreescu currently teaches at The University of Texas at Dallas. He is past chairman of the USA Mathematical Olympiad, served as director of the MAA American Mathematics Competitions (1998-2003), coach of the USA International Mathematical Olympiad Team (IMO) for 10 years (1993-2002), director of the Mathematical Olympiad Summer Program (1995-2002), and leader of the USA IMO Team (1995-2002). In 2002 Titu was elected member of the IMO Advisory Board, the governing body of the world's most prestigious mathematics competition. Titu co-founded in 2006 and continues as director of the AwesomeMath Summer Program (AMSP). He received the Edyth May Sliffe Award for Distinguished High School Mathematics Teaching from the MAA in 1994 and a "Certificate of Appreciation" from the president of the MAA in 1995 for his outstanding service as coach of the Mathematical Olympiad Summer Program in preparing the US team for its perfect performance in Hong Kong at the 1994 IMO. Titu's contributions to numerous textbooks and problem books are recognized worldwide.

Dorin Andrica received his Ph.D in 1992 from "Babes -Bolyai" University in Cluj-Napoca, Romania; his thesis treated critical points and applications to the geometry of differentiable submanifolds. Professor Andrica has been chairman of the Department of Geometry at "Babes -Bolyai" since 1995. He has written and contributed to numerous mathematics textbooks, problem books, articles and scientific papers at various levels. He is an invited lecturer at university conferences around the world: Austria, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Egypt, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, the Netherlands, Portugal, Serbia, Turkey, and the USA. Dorin is a member of the Romanian Committee for the Mathematics Olympiad and is a member on the editorial boards of several international journals. Also, he is well known for his conjecture about consecutive primes called "Andrica's Conjecture." He has been a regular faculty member at the Canada-USA Mathcamps between 2001-2005 and at the AwesomeMath Summer Program (AMSP) since 2006.

Klappentext

This introductory textbook takes a problem-solving approach to number theory, situating each concept within the framework of an example or a problem for solving. Starting with the essentials, the text covers divisibility, unique factorization, modular arithmetic and the Chinese Remainder Theorem, Diophantine equations, binomial coefficients, Fermat and Mersenne primes and other special numbers, and special sequences. Included are sections on mathematical induction and the pigeonhole principle, as well as a discussion of other number systems. By emphasizing examples and applications the authors motivate and engage readers.

Inhalt

Fundamentals.- Divisibility.- Powers of Integers.- Floor Function and Fractional Part.- Digits of Numbers.- Basic Principles in Number Theory.- Arithmetic Functions.- More on Divisibility.- Diophantine Equations.- Some Special Problems in Number Theory.- Problems Involving Binomial Coefficients.- Miscellaneous Problems.- Solutions to Additional Problems.- Divisibility.- Powers of Integers.- Floor Function and Fractional Part.- Digits of Numbers.- Basic Principles in Number Theory.- Arithmetic Functions.- More on Divisibility.- Diophantine Equations.- Some Special Problems in Number Theory.- Problems Involving Binomial Coefficients.- Miscellaneous Problems.