How to Use number theory in a Sentence

number theory

noun
  • Maybe Mills is on to something with his no-number theory.
    Sam King, The Indianapolis Star, 19 Mar. 2021
  • On one side of the link was a fundamental object in number theory called the j-function.
    Julie Rehmeyer, Discover Magazine, 29 Nov. 2015
  • Then along came Larsen with a new proof about just that, one inspired by recent epochal work in a different area of number theory.
    Jordana Cepelewicz, Quanta Magazine, 13 Oct. 2022
  • For example, two of the biggest open problems in the field of number theory are the twin primes conjecture and the Goldbach conjecture.
    Quanta Magazine, 1 June 2020
  • Like primes, smooth numbers come up all over number theory, and results about their level of distribution and that of the primes often go hand in hand.
    Erica Klarreich, Quanta Magazine, 26 Oct. 2023
  • Patience is required in number theory, where the questions are often easy to state but difficult to solve.
    Quanta Magazine, 10 Sep. 2020
  • Their starting point was one of the central objects in number theory: elliptic curves.
    Quanta Magazine, 22 Feb. 2021
  • Arithmetic progressions are involved in the study of prime numbers, the elusive building blocks of number theory.
    Eugenia Cheng, WSJ, 5 Dec. 2018
  • The story takes place in the mathematical field of number theory.
    Quanta Magazine, 7 Dec. 2017
  • String theory and number theory have common ground in a specific kind of elliptic curve from a torus.
    Caroline Delbert, Popular Mechanics, 2 Mar. 2020
  • There was probability in one classroom and pre-algebra next door, code-breaking down the hall and number theory around the corner.
    Ben Cohen, WSJ, 14 July 2022
  • Quite a bit of my work does have to do with elliptic curves, which are very natural objects in number theory and arithmetic geometry.
    Quanta Magazine, 22 Nov. 2022
  • Has one of the major outstanding problems in number theory finally been solved?
    Caroline Delbert, Popular Mechanics, 6 Apr. 2020
  • Dance can be used to help teach number theory, visual arts to improve reading comprehension.
    oregonlive, 8 Nov. 2021
  • Even if Bhargava’s techniques don’t lead straight to the next number theory breakthrough, Thorne believes the paper will have a more intangible impact.
    Quanta Magazine, 21 Apr. 2022
  • Granville, who is writing a book on analytic number theory, complained that Maynard has greatly slowed his progress.
    Quanta Magazine, 1 July 2020
  • In fact, within modern number theory, p-adic L-functions are viewed as a natural companion to complex L-functions.
    Quanta Magazine, 25 May 2021
  • Wiles managed to combine new research in very different branches of math in order to solve Fermat’s classic number theory question.
    Dave Linkletter, Popular Mechanics, 28 Jan. 2022
  • But recently that progress accelerated, blown ahead on the broader trade winds advancing number theory as a whole.
    Quanta Magazine, 21 Apr. 2022
  • As computers get faster and mathematicians explore the deeper realms of number theory, today’s codes will be broken.
    Veronique Greenwood, Discover Magazine, 6 June 2011
  • The Riemann zeta function, by contrast, assigns complex numbers to the variable s, an innovation that brings the whole vast store of techniques from complex analysis to bear on questions in number theory.
    Kevin Hartnett, Quanta Magazine, 13 Jan. 2022
  • Over the past century, however, some arcane theorems from 18th-century number theory (that is, the study of whole numbers) were used to dream up one of the most powerful modern encryption systems.
    Eugenia Cheng, WSJ, 3 Oct. 2018
  • His goal was to create a dictionary that would translate between dynamical systems and number theory.
    Quanta Magazine, 22 Feb. 2021
  • These branches include large areas of the modern number theory that Wiles drew on for his successful solution, as well as many of the fundamental ideas in every part of science touched by mathematics.
    Quanta Magazine, 3 June 2019
  • The first, called covering systems or covering congruences, was invented by Erdős in 1950 to solve a different problem in number theory.
    Quanta Magazine, 30 Mar. 2021
  • Wu said cybersecurity and cryptography can benefit from his work because much of it is based on prime numbers and number theory.
    Erin B. Logan, Washington Post, 6 May 2018
  • Maryna Viazovska, a Ukrainian mathematician, is now the second woman to receive one of the highest honors in mathematics, the Fields Medal, for her work in number theory and sphere-packing.
    Amanda Taheri, PEOPLE.com, 6 July 2022
  • Cryptography is the preservation of information via math and numbers, and an extension of number theory.
    Popular Mechanics, 21 Feb. 2021
  • Ramanujan was known for his work in several areas of mathematics, including number theory, and his quick, intuitive way of working with numbers and functions.
    Evelyn Lamb, Popular Mechanics, 23 Feb. 2021
  • In less than thirty minutes, the film takes the viewer—and Donald Duck—from ancient Greeks to futuristic astronauts, introducing such concepts as number theory and geometry.
    Dan Rockmore, The New Yorker, 26 Sep. 2022

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'number theory.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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