A survey of investigations of the discrete ergodic method in number theory (Q2857773)

The author describes some applications of the discrete ergodic method (DEM) to find asymptotic formulae for the number of representations of an integer by ternary (or \(n-\)ary with \(n \geq 3\)) quadratic forms. DEM is explained at the example of the form \(x_1^2+x_2^2+x_3^2\) along the lines of \textit{Yu. V. Linnik}'s 1940 paper [Bull. Acad. Sci. URSS, Ser. Math. (Izv. Akad. Nauk SSSR) 4, No. 4-5, 363--402 (1940; Zbl 0024.25001)]. Then several results obtained by using a variant of the method are presented. All these results were published before 1991 with the exception of three author's papers published later. The paper ends with a list of six open problems on ternary quadratic forms, where DEM should be applicable.