Topographs for binary quadratic forms and class numbers

DOI10.1112/MTK.70042MaRDI QIDQ6927737zbMATH OpenFDO

Authors Cormac O'Sullivan

Publication date 18 September 2025

Published in Mathematika (Search for Journal in Brave)

Full work available at URL https://doi.org/10.1112/MTK.70042

zbMATH Keywords

binary quadratic formsclass numberssums of three squarestopographs

Mathematics Subject Classification ID

General binary quadratic forms (11E16) Class numbers of quadratic and Hermitian forms (11E41) Continued fraction calculations (number-theoretic aspects) (11Y65)

Review text

Topographs for binary quadratic forms were introduced by \textit{J. H. Conway} in his book [The sensual (quadratic) form. Assisted by Francis Y. C. Fung. Washington, DC: The Mathematical Association of America (1997; Zbl 0885.11002)]. They are studied here in greater detail with new applications, namely a new treatment of reduction of forms and a novel continued fraction for complex numbers. This allows uniform reduction for any positive, negative, square or nonsquare discriminant. The treatment also provides new class number formulas. The Gauss result about sums of three squares is given a new short proof.

Cited in

(2)

• Evaluating lattice sums via telescoping on \(\mathrm{SL}_+(2,\mathbb{Z})\): a short proof of \(\sum\frac{ 1}{ \parallel x \parallel^2 \parallel y \parallel^2 \parallel x + y \parallel^2}=\frac{ \pi}{ 4}\) and of Zagier's identity
• A half-shift reflection identity for the digamma function

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