Lev Schnirelmann
Encyclopedia
Lev Genrikhovich Schnirelmann , also Shnirelman, Shnirel'man (January 2, 1905 in Gomel – September 24, 1938 in Moscow
) was a Soviet
mathematician
who sought to prove Goldbach's conjecture
. In 1931, using the Brun sieve
, he proved that any natural number
greater than 1 can be written as the sum of not more than 20 prime numbers.
His other fundamental work is joint with Lazar Lyusternik
. Together, they
developed the Lyusternik-Schnirelmann category, as it is called now, based on the previous work by Henri Poincaré
, David Birkhoff
, and Marston Morse
. The theory gives a global invariant of spaces, and has led to advances in differential geometry and topology
.
Schnirelmann graduated from Moscow State University
(1925) and then worked in Steklov Mathematical Institute (1934–1938). His advisor was Nikolai Luzin
.
According to Pontryagin
's memoir, Schnirelmann committed suicide in Moscow.
Moscow
Moscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...
) was a Soviet
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
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....
who sought to prove Goldbach's conjecture
Goldbach's conjecture
Goldbach's conjecture is one of the oldest unsolved problems in number theory and in all of mathematics. It states:A Goldbach number is a number that can be expressed as the sum of two odd primes...
. In 1931, using the Brun sieve
Brun sieve
In the field of number theory, the Brun sieve is a technique for estimating the size of "sifted sets" of positive integers which satisfy a set of conditions which are expressed by congruences...
, he proved that any natural number
Natural number
In mathematics, the natural numbers are the ordinary whole numbers used for counting and ordering . These purposes are related to the linguistic notions of cardinal and ordinal numbers, respectively...
greater than 1 can be written as the sum of not more than 20 prime numbers.
His other fundamental work is joint with Lazar Lyusternik
Lazar Lyusternik
Lazar Aronovich Lyusternik was a Soviet mathematician....
. Together, they
developed the Lyusternik-Schnirelmann category, as it is called now, based on the previous work by Henri Poincaré
Henri Poincaré
Jules Henri Poincaré was a French mathematician, theoretical physicist, engineer, and a philosopher of science...
, David Birkhoff
George David Birkhoff
-External links:* − from National Academies Press, by Oswald Veblen....
, and Marston Morse
Marston Morse
Harold Calvin Marston Morse was an American mathematician best known for his work on the calculus of variations in the large, a subject where he introduced the technique of differential topology now known as Morse theory...
. The theory gives a global invariant of spaces, and has led to advances in differential geometry and topology
Topology
Topology is a major area of mathematics concerned with properties that are preserved under continuous deformations of objects, such as deformations that involve stretching, but no tearing or gluing...
.
Schnirelmann graduated from Moscow State University
Moscow State University
Lomonosov Moscow State University , previously known as Lomonosov University or MSU , is the largest university in Russia. Founded in 1755, it also claims to be one of the oldest university in Russia and to have the tallest educational building in the world. Its current rector is Viktor Sadovnichiy...
(1925) and then worked in Steklov Mathematical Institute (1934–1938). His advisor was Nikolai Luzin
Nikolai Luzin
Nikolai Nikolaevich Luzin, , was a Soviet/Russian mathematician known for his work in descriptive set theory and aspects of mathematical analysis with strong connections to point-set topology. He was the eponym of Luzitania, a loose group of young Moscow mathematicians of the first half of the...
.
According to Pontryagin
Lev Semenovich Pontryagin
Lev Semenovich Pontryagin was a Soviet mathematician. He was born in Moscow and lost his eyesight due to a primus stove explosion when he was 14...
's memoir, Schnirelmann committed suicide in Moscow.
See also
- Inscribed square problemInscribed square problemThe inscribed square problem is an unsolved question in geometry: Does every plane simple curve contain all four vertices of some square? This is known to be true if the curve is convex or piecewise smooth and in other special cases. The problem was proposed by Otto Toeplitz in 1911. Some early...
- Schnirelmann densitySchnirelmann densityIn additive number theory, the Schnirelmann density of a sequence of numbers is a way to measure how "dense" the sequence is. It is named after Russian mathematician L.G...
- Schnirelmann's constant
- Schnirelmann's theorem
External links
- Lev Genrihovich Schnirelmann, a popular article by V. Tikhomirov and V. Uspensky (in Russian)