MATH 408 Elementary Number Theory

Number theory plays a role in many areas of mathematics, and is essential to the understanding of cryptography, cryptocurrency, and cyber security. Some of the topics covered include properties of prime numbers, the Fundamental Theorem of Arithmetic, congruences, Fermat's and Euler's theorem, Diophantine equations, primitive roots, and quadratic reciprocity. The basics of public key cryptography, which forms much of the backbone of internet security systems, will also be covered. Such topics include the discrete logarithm problem, Diffie-Hellman key exchange, and RSA public key cryptosystem.

Credits

3

Prerequisite

MATH 248 (formerly MATH 305) or CSC 210