2007-02-26 21:39:52 · 4 answers · asked by Anonymous in Science & Mathematics ➔ Mathematics
I doubt it, but I still wonder what Fermat had in mind when he wrote that the margin of his paper was not large enough to contain the proof. Was his proof valid?
2007-02-26 23:17:42 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
The proof is a combination of the proof to two conjectures that were proven in 1986 and 1993
- Epsilon Conjecture (Ribet, 1986): every counterexample to Fermat's Last Theorem yields an elliptic curve
which is not modular.
- Taniyama-Shimura Conjecture (1993, Weyl): all elliptic curves are also modular forms.
Given that both are now known to be true, it follows that, in order to avoid a contradiction, there cannot be any solution to the Fermat equation.
Definitions:
Elliptic curves are functions of the form y^2 = polynome of x.
Modular forms are complex functions with a bunch of properties that makes them "nice" to work with.
Take a look here for much more details on everything I mentioned:
http://cgd.best.vwh.net/home/flt/fltmain.htm
2007-02-27 06:38:19 · answer #2 · answered by cordefr 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
google andrew wiles for the answer! - be prepared for a 300 page proof. give or take another 100.
2007-02-27 06:22:02 · answer #3 · answered by FedUp 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
OMG! is it proved?
2007-02-27 06:25:57 · answer #4 · answered by abdosdt 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋