Algebraic Number Theory

Bringing the material up to date to reflect modern applications, Algebraic Number Theory, Second Edition has been completely rewritten and reorganized to incorporate a new style, methodology, and presentation. This edition focuses on integral domains, ideals, and unique factorization in the first chapter; field extensions in the second chapter; and class groups in the third chapter. Applications are now collected in chapter four and at the end of chapter five, where primality testing is highlighted as an application of the Kronecker–Weber theorem. In chapter five, the sections on ideal decomposition in number fields have been more evenly distributed. The final chapter continues to cover reciprocity laws.

New to the Second Edition






Reorganization of all chapters
More complete and involved treatment of Galois theory
A study of binary quadratic forms and a comparison of the ideal and form class groups
More comprehensive section on Pollard’s cubic factoring algorithm
More detailed explanations of proofs, with less reliance on exercises, to provide a sound understanding of challenging material

The book includes mini-biographies of notable mathematicians, convenient cross-referencing, a comprehensive index, and numerous exercises. The appendices present an overview of all the concepts used in the main text, an overview of sequences and series, the Greek alphabet with English transliteration, and a table of Latin phrases and their English equivalents.

Suitable for a one-semester course, this accessible, self-contained text offers broad, in-depth coverage of numerous applications. Readers are lead at a measured pace through the topics to enable a clear understanding of the pinnacles of algebraic number theory.