Kurt Heegner
Encyclopedia
Kurt Heegner was a German
private scholar from Berlin, who specialized in
radio
engineering
and mathematics
. He is now famous for his mathematical discoveries in number theory
.
In 1952 Heegner published what he claimed was the solution of a classic problem proposed by the great mathematician
Gauss
, the class number 1 problem, a significant and longstanding problem in number theory
. Heegner's work was not accepted for years, due mainly to mistakes in the paper. Heegner's proof was finally accepted as essentially correct in 1969, after Harold Stark
, who had independently arrived at a similar proof, showed that Heegner's proof was more or less equivalent to his own, with only a minor gap in it.
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
private scholar from Berlin, who specialized in
radio
Radio
Radio is the transmission of signals through free space by modulation of electromagnetic waves with frequencies below those of visible light. Electromagnetic radiation travels by means of oscillating electromagnetic fields that pass through the air and the vacuum of space...
engineering
Engineering
Engineering is the discipline, art, skill and profession of acquiring and applying scientific, mathematical, economic, social, and practical knowledge, in order to design and build structures, machines, devices, systems, materials and processes that safely realize improvements to the lives of...
and mathematics
Mathematics
Mathematics is the study of quantity, space, structure, and change. Mathematicians seek out patterns and formulate new conjectures. Mathematicians resolve the truth or falsity of conjectures by mathematical proofs, which are arguments sufficient to convince other mathematicians of their validity...
. He is now famous for his mathematical discoveries in number theory
Number theory
Number theory is a branch of pure mathematics devoted primarily to the study of the integers. Number theorists study prime numbers as well...
.
In 1952 Heegner published what he claimed was the solution of a classic problem proposed by the great mathematician
Mathematician
A mathematician is a person whose primary area of study is the field of mathematics. Mathematicians are concerned with quantity, structure, space, and change....
Gauss
Carl Friedrich Gauss
Johann Carl Friedrich Gauss was a German mathematician and scientist who contributed significantly to many fields, including number theory, statistics, analysis, differential geometry, geodesy, geophysics, electrostatics, astronomy and optics.Sometimes referred to as the Princeps mathematicorum...
, the class number 1 problem, a significant and longstanding problem in number theory
Number theory
Number theory is a branch of pure mathematics devoted primarily to the study of the integers. Number theorists study prime numbers as well...
. Heegner's work was not accepted for years, due mainly to mistakes in the paper. Heegner's proof was finally accepted as essentially correct in 1969, after Harold Stark
Harold Stark
Harold Mead Stark is an American mathematician, specializing in number theory. He is best known for his solution of the Gauss class number 1 problem, in effect correcting and completing the earlier work of Kurt Heegner; and for Stark's conjecture. He has recently collaborated with Audrey Terras on...
, who had independently arrived at a similar proof, showed that Heegner's proof was more or less equivalent to his own, with only a minor gap in it.
Literature
- Stark, H.M. (1969). "On the gap in the theorem of Heegner", Journal of Number TheoryJournal of Number TheoryThe Journal of Number Theory , often abbreviated J. Number Theory or J. Num. Th. in bibliographies, is a mathematics journal that publishes a broad spectrum of original research in number theory. The journal was founded in 1969 by R.P. Bambah, P. Roquette, A. Ross, A. Woods, and H. Zassenhaus,...
, 1: 16–27.