Syllabus for 18.785 (Analytic Number Theory, MIT, spring 2007)

This document does not include a summary of the course; for that, see my first set of lecture notes. For additional notes and the calendar of lectures, see here.

Lectures: MWF 10-11, room 2-102.

Instructor info: Kiran Kedlaya, 2-165, x3-2946, kedlaya (at) mit (dot) edu
Office hours: Monday 11-12 or by appointment. (I recommend email for making appointments.)

Textbooks: no required text; I will be posting detailed lecture notes in lieu of following a specific text. Recommended: Davenport, Multiplicative Number Theory (Springer) or Iwaniec-Kowalski, Analytic Number Theory (AMS). I plan to have both of these on reserve at the MIT science library.

Prerequisites: complex analysis (18.112), some background in number theory (at the level of 18.781). There are one or two points where a little algebraic number theory (as in 18.786) may be helpful, but it is in no way required. On the other hand, the 18.112 prerequisite is quite serious; if you do not formally meet it, you must let me know in writing what your equivalent preparation is. Also recommended: some abstract algebra (18.701 and 18.702), though this will probably only make a real difference at the end of the semester.

Homework: roughly weekly assignments throughout the semester. Collaboration policy: you may (and should) work together on problems, but you must write up solutions individually, and you should indicate on your homework who you were working with. In case of ambiguity, I reserve the right to ask you to defend your solutions individually.

Exams: none.

Grading: 100% homework. This is a graduate course, after all, albeit one which is probably suitable for a sufficiently prepared and motivated undergraduate.