Proofs of irrationality
type: Item
instance of: scholarly article
zbMATH Open document ID: 1301.11001
author: Tom Müller
publication date: 2014-10-20T00:00:00Z
Mathematics Subject Classification ID: 11-01
Mathematics Subject Classification ID: 11J72
Mathematics Subject Classification ID: 11J81
Mathematics Subject Classification ID: 11A55
Mathematics Subject Classification ID: 11J70
Mathematics Subject Classification ID: 11J68
Mathematics Subject Classification ID: 00A05
zbMATH DE Number: 6358508
zbMATH Keywords: irrational numbers
zbMATH Keywords: transcendental numbers
zbMATH Keywords: decimal expansions
zbMATH Keywords: continued fractions
zbMATH Keywords: Diophantine approximation
zbMATH Keywords: Diophantine equations
MaRDI profile type: MaRDI publication profile
title: Proofs of irrationality
published in: Berliner Studienreihe zur Mathematik
review text: Since the development of the foundations of set theory by Georg Cantor in the second half of the 19th century, it is a well-known fact that the set \(\mathbb{R}\) of real numbers is uncountable, and that therefore the set \(\mathbb{R}\setminus\mathbb{Q}\) of irrational (i.e., non-rational) numbers is uncountable, too. In other words, almost all real numbers are irrational. On the other hand, in the long history of mathematics as a whole, the study of specific real numbers with regard to their possible property of being irrational has always played a prominent role, ranking from the mathematics in ancient Greece and India to the contributions by Muslim mathematicians in the Middle ages and, finally, to the pioneering developments in Europe since the 17th century. In the course of these investigations over almost 3000 years, various methods of proving the irrationality of certain real numbers have been invented, and the study of both irrational and transcendental numbers is still a highly active area of research in contemporary mathematics.NEWLINENEWLINE The book under review offers an excursion into the fascinating world of irrational numbers, with particular emphasis on the broad spectrum of both methodological and historical proofs of irrationality for certain function values, infinite series, or geometrically defined real numbers. The main feature of the author's approach consists in the interesting organization of the material. More precisely, the various presented proofs of irrationality are divided into distinct methodological categories: proofs of existence, proofs by contradiction, proofs via special presentations, proofs via Diophantine approximation and Diophantine equations, and proofs of transcendence. Along this special path, the historical developments in the theory of irrational numbers are instructively outlined through numerous remarks and bibliographical hints.NEWLINENEWLINE As for the contents, the book comprises six chapters and an appendix. Chapt…
reviewed by: Werner Kleinert
description: scientific article; zbMATH DE number 6358508