Tag Archives: Math

What is an Infinitesimal?

Posted on August 28, 2019 by Sarah K. Salmon

A guest post from Reginald Anderson at Kansas State University. First-time learners of calculus often struggle with the notion of an infinitesimal, and considering $\frac{dy}{dx}$ literally as a fraction can lead students astray in Calculus III and differential equations, when … Continue reading →

Posted in Algebraic Geometry, Math Education, Teaching | Tagged , , | Comments Off on What is an Infinitesimal?

Introduction to Ideal Class Groups

Posted on February 10, 2018 by Tom Gannon

Algebraic number theory is a really interesting subject, but unlike some other subjects, it’s not 100% clear what objects people study. This post provides an introduction to the class group of a finite dimensional field extension of $\mathbb{Q}$, an object often … Continue reading →

Posted in Math, Number Theory, Uncategorized | Tagged , | 1 Comment

Intersection of a Chain of Subsets

Posted on November 21, 2017 by Behnam Esmayli

Assume $\{F_x\}_{x \in \Gamma}$ is a collection of subsets (of a not-so important set!) such that every two are comparable, i.e for any $x$ and $y$, either $F_x \subset F_y \ \ $ or $\ \ F_x \supset F_y \ … Continue reading →

Posted in Analysis, Math | Tagged , , , | 2 Comments

Gauge Theory and Low-Dimensional Topology (Part II: Smooth Four-Manifolds)

Posted on September 2, 2017 by Irving Dai

In the last post, I attempted to give an overview of the state of affairs in four-manifold topology leading up to the introduction of gauge theory. In particular, we discussed the correspondence between (topological) four-manifolds and their intersection forms afforded by … Continue reading →

Posted in Math, Topology | Tagged , | 2 Comments

A Pretty Lemma About Prime Ideals and Products of Ideals

Posted on August 23, 2017 by Tom Gannon

I was trying to prove a theorem in algebraic geometry which basically held if and only if this lemma held. Here’s the lemma: Lemma: Given any ring $A$, a prime ideal $ \mathfrak{p} \subset A$, and a finite collection of ideals … Continue reading →

Posted in Algebra, Algebraic Geometry, Math | Tagged , , | 3 Comments