Number Theory

Seminars

For Fall 2023, the Number Theory Seminar is running on Thursdays from 2–3PM (occasionally from 1–2PM).

Group overview

Number theorists study properties of the integers, as well as related generating functions (analytic number theory), arithmetic in generalizations of the integers (algebraic number theory), the distribution of rational and algebraic numbers within the reals (Diophantine approximation), and countless other topics.

At UBC, the Number Theory group works on sieve methods and the distribution of primes, Diophantine problems, special values of L-functions, arithmetic dynamics, representations of p-adic groups, non-commutative Iwasawa theory and automorphic forms. 

For prospective students

Number theory is an ancient area of mathematical research. Many problems in number theory are so accessible that they can be easily stated to undergraduates, yet so deep that they have withstood attempts to prove them for centuries or even millennia. Number theory has close connections with many other areas such as algebraic geometry, combinatorics, cryptography and coding theory, harmonic analysis, probability, complex analysis, and representation theory. All these connections are explored in the various courses in number theory that we offer each year.