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Conjecture

Kummer-Vandiver Conjecture

Number Theory

The Kummer-Vandiver conjecture, also called the Vandiver conjecture, states that a prime p does not divide the class number of the maximal real subfield of the p-th cyclotomic field. Ernst Kummer first formulated the idea in letters to Leopold Kronecker in 1849 and 1853, and it was independently rediscovered around 1920 by Philipp Furtwangler and Harry Vandiver, whose name has become the conjecture's common label. This description is adapted from Wikipedia contributors under CC BY-SA 4.0; changes were made. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/

Facts
Statement
The conjecture states that a prime p does not divide the class number of the maximal real subfield of the p-th cyclotomic field. 1
Proposed Year
1849 1
First stated by Kummer in letters of 28 December 1849 and 24 April 1853; independently rediscovered around 1920 by Furtwangler and Vandiver.
Progress Toward Resolution
Computational verification has been extended to all primes less than 2^31 with no counterexample found. 1
Classification
Resolution Status
Open 1
Prize Status
Prize Status (category)
No Prize Offered 1
Sources
1. Kummer-Vandiver Conjecture (Wikipedia)
Wikimedia Foundation
  • Lead section
    As of 2011, there is no particularly strong evidence either for or against the conjecture and it is unclear whether it is true or false, though it is likely that counterexamples are very rare.
  • Lead section, class-number statement sentence
    a prime p does not divide the class number h_K of the maximal real subfield K = Q(ΞΆ_p)^+ of the p-th cyclotomic field.
  • Opening section, before Background heading
    The conjecture was first made by Ernst Kummer, on 28 December 1849 and 24 April 1853 in letters to Leopold Kronecker, and independently rediscovered around 1920 by Philipp Furtwängler and Harry Vandiver.
  • Evidence for and against the Kummer-Vandiver conjecture section
    Hart, Harvey, and Ong extended this to primes less than 2^31.
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