British mathematician who, with Peter Swinnerton-Dyer at the University of Cambridge, formulated the Birch and Swinnerton-Dyer conjecture between 1962 and 1965, using early EDSAC computer calculations to relate the rank of an elliptic curve's rational points to the behavior of its L-function. He also introduced modular symbols and the Birch-Tate conjecture in algebraic K-theory, and studied Heegner points on elliptic curves.
Facts
BirthplaceBurton-on-Trent, Staffordshire, England 2 Nationality / Culture Defining ContributionWith Peter Swinnerton-Dyer, formulated the Birch and Swinnerton-Dyer conjecture, 1962 to 1965, relating the rank of an elliptic curve's group of rational points to its Hasse-Weil L-function. 2 Notable WorkNotes on elliptic curves II, with Peter Swinnerton-Dyer (Journal fur die reine und angewandte Mathematik, 1965) 2 AwardFellow of the Royal Society (1972); Senior Whitehead Prize (1993); De Morgan Medal (2007); Sylvester Medal (2020) 2 Connections
Associated With
Co-formulated the Birch and Swinnerton-Dyer conjecture in the 1960s using numerical computation on the EDSAC-2 computer at the University of Cambridge.
Conjectures Posed
Source MacTutor History of Mathematics Archive
In Branch
Co-formulated the Birch and Swinnerton-Dyer conjecture on elliptic curves, one of number theory's Millennium Prize problems.
Source Bryan Birch (Wikipedia)
Namesake Of
Proofs Credited
Source Birch's theorem (Wikipedia)
In the Other Atlases
Nationality
Also in Geography Atlas: the nationality of this subject.
Sources
1. Bryan Birch (Wikipedia)
Wikimedia FoundationInfobox: awards
Senior Whitehead Prize (1993) De Morgan Medal (2007) Sylvester Medal (2020)
Lead section, gender reference
His name has been given to the Birch and Swinnerton-Dyer conjecture.
View the Source 2. MacTutor History of Mathematics Archive
University of St Andrews, School of Mathematics and Statisticshttps://mathshistory.st-andrews.ac.uk/Biographies/Birch/
Bryan Birch is a British mathematician who is well known for his work in number theory, and in particular for his outstanding contributions to the arithmetic of elliptic curves.
Conjectures Posed: Birch and Swinnerton-Dyer Conjecture, Biography section, paragraph beginning Two years later, in May 1964
Two years later, in May 1964, they submitted Notes on elliptic curves II which continues their investigation and contains what today is known as the Birch-Swinnerton-Dyer Conjecture.
View the Source Birch's theorem (Wikipedia)
Proofs Credited: Birch's Theorem, Lead sectionQuote, Proofs Credited: Birch's Theorem, Lead section
Birch's theorem, named for Bryan John Birch
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